Information for foreign-trained engineers

Engineering Department employees, 1962 (Photo credit: Seattle Municipal Archives)

Information on requirements to practise

The engineering profession is regulated in Canada. It is illegal to practise as an engineer or to use the title "engineer" without being licensed as a professional engineer with a provincial or territorial association. However, individuals can do engineering work under the direct supervision of licensed professional engineers.

Provincial and territorial engineering regulatory bodies are responsible for setting the standards for entry into the profession and for issuing licences to those who meet established standards of qualifications and practice. Therefore, once you know where you will settle and work in Canada, you should contact the appropriate regulatory body for details on licensure procedures (See list below).

Engineers Canada established the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB) in 1965 to accredit undergraduate engineering programs at Canadian institutions which provide aspiring engineers with the academic requirements necessary for registration as a professional engineer in Canada. The list of accredited academic programs can be consulted on its web site, as well as the Engineers Canada Examination Syllabus.

Information on assessment of qualifications

The Roadmap to Engineering in Canada Web site is dedicated to providing information to international engineering graduates on the steps to obtain a licence to practise as a professional engineer in Canada.

While not part of the registration process to become a licensed professional engineer in Canada, the Roadmap includes the on-line Academic Information Tool, which provides valuable information on how an undergraduate education in engineering obtained outside Canada compares to a Canadian undergraduate education in engineering.

This is important, as the definition of engineering varies from one country to the next. Work and training that in some countries are called engineering and are linked to the job title of engineer may fall into a different job category in Canada. The Academic Information Tool assists applicants in making an informed choice about immigrating to Canada.

Please note that the Academic Information Tool provides general information on how international academic credentials compare to those issued in Canada. It is not part of the formal immigration selection process, nor is it part of the engineering licensure process.

For more information, contact:

Engineers Canada: Foreign Credential Recognition Program
180 Elgin Street, Suite 1100; Ottawa ON K2P 2K3 Canada; Phone : 613-232-2474; Phone (alternate): 1-877-408-9273; Fax : 613-230-5759; Email : newcomers@engineerscanada.ca; http://www.engineerscanada.ca/e/

For immigration to Quebec, you should contact the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec (OIQ) directly:

Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec (OIQ): Gare Windsor, bureau 350
1100, avenue des Canadiens-de-Montréal; Montréal QC H3B 2S2 Canada; Phone : 514-845-6141; Phone (alternate): 1-800-461-6141; Fax : 514-845-1833; Email : info@oiq.qc.ca; http://www.oiq.qc.ca/

You should note that if you are already licensed to practise as an engineer, and later wish to work in a non-regulated occupation, employers may request that you provide them with a formal assessment of your academic credentials.

If that is the case, or if you wish to have your credentials assessed for a purpose other than practising a regulated occupation in Canada, you may consult our Fact Sheet No. 2, "Assessment and recognition of credentials for the purpose of employment in Canada" and contact an academic credential evaluation service. Although evaluation services offer expert advice on how qualifications obtained abroad compare with academic credentials obtained in Canada, their evaluations are advisory only and do not guarantee recognition of your qualifications for employment or certification purposes in Canada. Please note that evaluation services charge a fee for their assessments.

Information on assessment for immigration purposes, under the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP)

The Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) is an immigration program administered by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), the department responsible for immigration to Canada.

CIC has listed the priority occupations (NOC 2131, 2132, 2134, 2143, 2144, 2145, 2146, and 2147) under the FSWP. To apply for immigration to Canada under this program, one of the requirements* is to obtain an “Educational Credential Assessment” (ECA) for immigration purposes from a CIC-designated organization. We invite you to communicate directly with one of the designated organizations to begin this process from outside Canada.

*It is important to note that this requirement is for immigration purposes only. It is separate from the process to obtain a license to practice from the relevant regulatory body listed below. Obtaining a license to practice is not required to apply for immigration.

Other relevant information

The following occupational profiles for specific engineering disciplines may also be of interest:

Specific Provincial/Territorial Information

List of engineering regulatory bodies

Alberta

Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA): 1500 Scotia One, 10060 Jasper Avenue NW; Edmonton AB T5J 4A2 Canada; Phone : 780-426-3990; Phone (alternate): 1-800-661-7020; Fax : 780-426-1877; Email : email@apegga.org; http://www.apega.ca/

British Columbia

Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia (APEGBC): Suite 200, 4010 Regent Street; Burnaby BC V5C 6N2 Canada; Phone : 604-430-8035; Phone (alternate): 1-888-430-8035; Fax : 604-430-8085; Email : apeginfo@apeg.bc.ca; http://www.apeg.bc.ca/

Manitoba

Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Manitoba (APEGM): 870 Pembina Highway; Winnipeg MB R3M 2M7 Canada; Phone : 204-474-2736; Phone (alternate): 1 (866) 227-9600; Fax : 204-474-5960; Email : apegm@apegm.mb.ca; http://www.apegm.mb.ca/

New Brunswick

Engineers and Geoscientists New Brunswick: 183 Hanwell Road; Fredericton NB E3B 2R2 Canada; Phone : 506-458-8083; Phone (alternate): 1-888-458-8083; Fax : 506-451-9629; Email : info@apegnb.com; http://www.apegnb.com/

Newfoundland and Labrador

Professional Engineers and Geoscientists Newfoundland and Labrador (PEGNL): P.O. Box 21207
10 Fort William Place, Suite 203; St. John's NL A1A 5B2 Canada; Phone : 709-753-7714; Fax : 709-753-6131; Email : main@pegnl.ca; http://www.pegnl.ca/

Northwest Territories

Northwest Territories and Nunavut Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists: 201, 4817-49th Street; Yellowknife NT X1A 3S7 Canada; Phone : 867-920-4055; Fax : 867-873-4058; Email : napeg@napeg.nt.ca; http://www.napeg.nt.ca/

Nova Scotia

Engineers Nova Scotia: 1355 Barrington Street, P.O. Box 129; Halifax NS B3J 2M4 Canada; Phone : 902-429-2250; Phone (alternate): 1-888-802-7367; Fax : 902-423-9769; Email : info@engineersnovascotia.ca; http://www.engineersnovascotia.ca

Nunavut

Northwest Territories and Nunavut Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists: 201, 4817-49th Street; Yellowknife NT X1A 3S7 Canada; Phone : 867-920-4055; Fax : 867-873-4058; Email : napeg@napeg.nt.ca; http://www.napeg.nt.ca/

Ontario

Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO): 40 Sheppard Avenue West, Suite 101; Toronto ON M2N 6K9 Canada; Phone : 416-224-1100; Phone (alternate): 1-800-339-3716; Fax : 416-224-8168; Fax (alternate): 1-800-268-0496; Email : MSaldanha@peo.on; http://www.peo.on.ca/

Prince Edward Island

Engineers PEI: 135 Water Street; Charlottetown PE C1A 1A8 Canada; Phone : 902-566-1268; Fax : 902-566-5551; Email : info@EngineersPEI.com; http://www.engineerspei.com/

Quebec

Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec (OIQ): Gare Windsor, bureau 350
1100, avenue des Canadiens-de-Montréal; Montréal QC H3B 2S2 Canada; Phone : 514-845-6141; Phone (alternate): 1-800-461-6141; Fax : 514-845-1833; Email : info@oiq.qc.ca; http://www.oiq.qc.ca/

Saskatchewan

Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan (APEGS): 2255-13th Avenue, Suite 104; Regina SK S4P 0V6 Canada; Phone : 306-525-9547; Phone (alternate): 1-800-500-9547; Fax : 306-525-0851; Email : apegs@apegs.sk.ca; http://www.apegs.sk.ca/

Yukon

Association of Professional Engineers of Yukon (APEY): 312B Hanson Street; Whitehorse YT Y1A 1Y6 Canada; Phone : 867-667-6727; Fax : 867-668-2142; Email : staff@apey.yk.ca; http://www.apey.yk.ca/

CANADA HAS 8TH BEST TAX SYSTEM IN THE WORLD

Income Tax rates by Country based on OECD 2005 data. "OECD Tax Database". Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development . . Retrieved 2007-01-30 . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sitting steady in the top 10 ranking for the last three studies, Canada remains in 8th place when it comes to its ease of paying taxes for businesses, finds a study by PwC and the World Bank Group. It reviews tax regimes in 189 economies around the world.

“Within North America, Canada maintains the lowest average total tax rate ranking largely due to its efforts to establish a tax-competitive and business-friendly environment,” says Brad Sakich, Canadian tax policy leader, PwC. “Privately owned small businesses in Canada should take comfort — the ranking demonstrates that Canadian government agencies support and encourage the creation of more such businesses.”

The factors that make Canada one of the best include:

Significant reduction in the corporate income tax rate on annual Canadian profits in excess of $500,000 since 2001.
Reduced corporate income tax rate on the first $500,000 of annual Canadian profits made by privately owned corporations.
Canada’s efforts to simplify electronic reporting, filing and payment, and the tax regulatory and compliance aspects of running a business (tax red-tape).

Read: Making tuition tax credits fairer

Here’s how Canada ranks compared to other G8 nations.

Economy	Overall (rank)	Tax Payments	Time to Comply (hrs)	Total Tax Rate (TTR)
Canada	8	8	131	24.3%
United Kingdom	14	8	110	34.0%
France	52	7	132	64.7%
United States	64	11	175	46.3%
Germany	89	9	218	49.4%

The report indicates that continuing simplification of tax red-tape in Canada remains important, but with the current economic climate, the main priority for businesses today should be tax rate stability.

Read: Ontario dividend tax rules change

Around the world

Some global key findings include:

among the regions, Europe and Central Asia made the biggest improvements in the ease of paying taxes over the past five years;
the global average for the time to comply has fallen every year since 2005. Time to comply is lowest in the United Arab Emirates where it takes 12 hours to deal with taxes that apply;
at 52.9%, Africa has the highest average TTR of any region; and
with a fall of 28 payments spread across all three types of tax (profit, labour, other) China has had the largest drop in the Asia Pacific region over the nine years of the study.

Originally published on Advisor.ca

Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program Announces Sweeping Changes for 2014

Province of Saskatchewan in Canada (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Government of Saskatchewan has announced that, in response to feedback from immigration stakeholders, the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) will be overhauled and streamlined in the New Year.

The SINP is Saskatchewan’s Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). Most Canadian provinces have dedicated PNPs, which allow them to nominate foreign nationals to the Federal government for Canadian Permanent Residency.

Changes to the SINP will become effective January 2, 2014. The program, which currently consists of nine immigration sub-categories, will see these sub-categories combined into three overarching categories. They will be as follows:
International Skilled Worker;
Saskatchewan Experience; and
Entrepreneur and Farm

In addition to changing the structure and content of the program, beginning in January all SINP applications will be submitted and processed electronically. By using an exclusively online system, the overall process will be made easier and more efficient for both applicants and visa officers.

A number of significant changes will be made to each of the three new immigration categories. Below is a brief summary of these changes, as well as a commentary on what applicants can expect from the new system.
International Skilled Worker Category
This category has been created for workers who wish to live and work in the Province of Saskatchewan. Applicants can be nominated by the SINP for immigration if they successfully demonstrate that they have the necessary experience, education, language and adaptability to thrive in the province.
The program will include the following criteria:
-A points system that assesses employment offers, education, work experience, language skills, family connections, and other factors. Family connection points have been increased and can now account for up to 20% of total points;
-Applicants must have language skills equivalent to or higher than Canadian Level Benchmark 4. These skills must be proven by submitting scores from an SINP-approved language exam;
-Applicants with work experience in a regulated profession (such as nursing or engineering) must obtain necessary provincial certification; and
-Applicants without a skilled job offer must submit a settlement plan and proof of settlement funds.

For 2014, a total of 250 applications will be accepted from applicants who do not have a job offer in Saskatchewan. Applicants’ occupations must be included on a designated list of occupations. This list, as well as more detailed guidelines on the points system and application procedures, will be made available in December 2013.

Saskatchewan Experience Category
This category is geared towards individuals who are currently living and working in the province. It will consist of the following five sub-categories:
-Existing Work Permit
-Health Professionals
-Hospitality Sector Pilot Project
-Long Haul Truck Drivers
-Students (see changes below)

These programs currently exist as part of the SINP. No changes will be made to the first four sub-categories. However, changes have been made to the Students sub-category. These changes include:
-The Post-Graduation Work Permit and Master’s and PhD Graduate sub-categories, which are currently operating under the SINP, will be combined to create one general Students sub-category;
-Graduates from a Saskatchewan school must have a skilled job offer in the province that is relevant to their education, or a job offer requiring a post-secondary education. They must work in the province for 6 months before applying; and
-Graduates from a school outside of Saskatchewan must have a skilled job offer in the province that is relevant to their education, and must work in Saskatchewan for two years before applying.

Until December 31th, 2013, applications from an additional 250 out-of-province graduates and an additional 150 Saskatchewan graduates will be accepted for review.

Entrepreneur and Farm
This third category will consist of the following sub-categories, all of which already exist in the current SINP framework:
-Entrepreneur
-Farm Owners/Operators
-Young Farmers

Source: cpdhouse.org

Improving the Canadian Experience Class

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Ottawa, November 8, 2013 — Today, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander announced changes to improve the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) so that the program continues to attract top quality candidates.

“The Canadian Experience Class has allowed more than 25,000 people to stay in Canada permanently to contribute their skills and talents,” said Alexander. “The government is taking concrete action to reduce backlogs and processing times. By making these changes to the Canadian Experience Class, we are moving toward a more effective and efficient immigration system.”

In order to manage intake, maintain reasonable processing times and prevent a backlog from developing in the CEC, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) is introducing an annual cap on the number of new CEC applications. CIC will accept a maximum of 12,000 CEC applications from November 9, 2013, to October 31, 2014.

Despite the annual cap on applications, the department will admit approximately 15,000 individuals under the CEC in 2014.

CIC is also seeing an overrepresentation of certain occupations in the program. In order to bring in as diverse a skill set as possible, the department will introduce limits on the number of applications under certain occupations.

Effective November 9, 2013, CIC will introduce sub-caps of 200 applications each in certain skilled occupations. Also, six particular occupations will no longer be eligible for the CE

Between November 9, 2013 to October 31, 2014, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) will accept a maximum of 12,000 new applications under the Canadian Experience Class (CEC).

Because of an overrepresentation in the CEC applications received to date, the following six occupations will no longer be eligible for the CEC starting November 9, 2013:

cooks (NOC code 6322);
food service supervisors (NOC 6311);
administrative officers (NOC 1221);
administrative assistants (NOC 1241);
accounting technicians and bookkeepers (NOC 1311); and
retail sales supervisors (NOC 6211).

CIC already has a large inventory of applications in these occupations and will continue processing them to a final decision.

In addition, CIC will establish sub-caps of 200 applications each for National Occupational Classification (NOC) B occupations. These are mostly technical and administrative jobs or those in the skilled trades. NOC 0 and A (managerial and professional) occupations will not be sub-capped, but they will be subject to the overall cap of 12,000 applications.

Finally, CIC will maintain the same language criteria for applicants but will verify them upfront as of November 9, 2013. The current language requirements are Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7 for NOC 0 and A occupations, and CLB 5 for NOC B occupations. This new measure will ensure that applicants who do not meet the minimum language requirements are screened out earlier and processing resources can be concentrated on those who are more likely to qualify.

At the same time, this is more client-friendly, as applicants who do not have the required language proficiency will have their applications returned to them along with the processing fee.

International Students: Bring Your Loved Ones with You to Canada

English: Confederation Building, St. John's, Newfoundland (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Close to 100,000 international students from all over the world come to Canada each year to obtain a high-quality post-secondary education. Canada’s generous immigration policy allows the spouse and minor children of international students to accompany them to Canada to work and study. In this way, a student’s entire close family can benefit from a Canadian experience.Spouse or Common-Law Partner

The spouse or common-law partner of an international student may apply for an open work permit. The student must be studying full-time at:

A public post-secondary institution; or
A private post-secondary institution that operates under the same rules and regulations as a public institution and receives half of its overall operations budget from government grants; or
A private institution authorized by provincial statute to confer degrees.

An open work permit allows the holder to work for any employer in Canada, and does not require a Labour Market Opinion or job offer. The work permit will usually have the same period of validity as the study permit. However, the open work permit may exclude certain occupations in which the protection of public health is essential, unless the applicant undergoes an immigration medical examination.

In this way, not only can the spouses or partners of international students gain valuable Canadian work experience, but also can help support their families financially.

Minor Children

Any person under the age of majority is considered to be a minor child. The age of majority varies by province. In Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Saskatchewan, the age of majority is 18, while in British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut and Yukon it is 19.

Minor children who are already in Canada with at least one parent who is allowed to work or study in Canada do not require a study permit to attend school at the pre-school, primary, or secondary levels. However, once the child reaches the age of majority in their province, he or she must apply for a study permit to continue their studies in Canada.

The Application Process

An international student may bring his or her dependents to Canada by one of two routes.

One possible route is for the student and dependent family members to submit their visa applications concurrently. Another option is for the student to wait until he/she has received a study permit, and then submit applications for his or her accompanying dependents.

When applying for a study permit, information must be provided for all family members that will be accompanying the student to Canada. In order for their application to be approved, the student and his or her family will have to demonstrate that they have sufficient funds to support their stay in Canada. In addition, applicants may be required to undergo a medical examination and submit Police Clearance Certificates.

Depending on the applicants’ country of citizenship, a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) may be required in addition to any study or work permits. A full list of countries requiring a TRV to enter Canada can be found here.

A spouse or common-law partner who plans to work while in Canada has the option to apply for his or her Open Work Permit before entering the country, upon arrival to Canada, or after entering the country.

Oftentimes, minor children entering Canada may receive a visitor record, even if the child will be studying in Canada. This is because minor children in Canada may study at the pre-school, primary or secondary levels without needing to secure a study permit.

The Final Word

Canada’s commitment to family unification means that international students and their families have the opportunity to experience Canadian life together. Whether it is for a few months or for several years, international students will be comforted to know that their loved ones can be nearby as they pursue their dreams of obtaining a Canadian education.

“Canada is home to some of the most distinguished colleges and universities in the world,” said Attorney David Cohen. “Aside from putting money into the Canadian economy while studying, many international students remain in Canada after graduation and become valuable members of our workforce and general society. It is only natural that the Canadian Government has established generous laws that allow them to stay close to their families and feel welcome in their new home.”