TORONTO, July 27, 2026 /CNW/ — The Ontario Court of Justice has fined a Hamilton firm $7,500 for applying a facsimile of a professional engineer’s seal without the engineer’s knowledge or consent.
In October 2024, Grandville Construction Limited, affixed an engineer’s seal to several pages of a permit application and submitted it to the City of Hamilton in connection with a residential deck project. The engineer whose seal was used did not authorize the use of the seal.
A complaint was made to Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO), which investigated and laid charges under the Professional Engineers Act (PEA).
On July 16, 2026, Grandville Construction pleaded guilty to one count of breaching section 40(3)(b) of the PEA. The firm’s director, Harjinder Singh Sandhu, also pleaded guilty to breaching section 40(5) of the Act in connection with this conduct.
Grandville Construction was ordered to pay a $7,500 fine. The director received a suspended sentence and placed on probation for a period of one year.
Hanna Plummer, Legal Counsel, Regulatory Compliance, represented PEO in this matter. PEO would like to thank the victim engineer and the City of Hamilton for their diligence and cooperation in its investigation.
As the regulator of professional engineering in Ontario, PEO reminds the public that the unauthorized use or forgery of a professional engineer’s seal on construction or design drawings is a quasi-criminal offence under the PEA. Such conduct may also result in criminal charges under the Criminal Code of Canada.
Consumers of engineering services are also advised to exercise caution ensuring any engineer they engage through a freelance website is a legitimate engineer located in Ontario and directly reachable through channels beyond a freelance website.
PEO administers the Professional Engineers Act to serve and protect the public interest by licensing Ontario’s more than 98,000 professional engineers and engineering firms. Professional engineers can be identified by the “P.Eng.” designation following their names.
Members of the public can verify a professional engineer or engineering firm by searching PEO’s public directories at peo.on.ca/directory. Concerns about unlicensed individuals or unauthorized firms may be reported to PEO’s enforcement team via enforcement@peo.on.ca.
SOURCE Professional Engineers Ontario