NB crane ‘inspector’ pleads guilty, fined over fake engineer’s seal

An Ontario court has fined a New Brunswick man $50,000 for using a fabricated seal bearing his name and the title “licensed professional engineer” in the course of performing a large number of “inspections” over two years in several municipalities across Southwestern Ontario. 

Jay Lawrence Harding pleaded guilty in November to 27 counts of breaching section 40(2)(c) of the Professional Engineers Act in connection with the inspections and “non-destructive tests” of cranes, lifting devices and related parts, according to Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO), which had initially laid 352 charges against Harding in March 2023. 

Harding performed the inspections between 2019 and 2021, operating through a sole proprietorship known as AJ Ontario Hoist Inspections. 

Additionally, an Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Kitchener has issued a permanent statutory injunction under section 39 of the Professional Engineers Act prohibiting Harding from holding himself out as a professional engineer or using an engineering seal in Ontario in the future.

According to PEO’s member registry, Harding is not presently and has never been licensed as a professional engineer 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 Professional Engineers Act,” the licensing and regulating body for professional engineering in the province announced in a statement. “Such conduct may also result in criminal charges under the Criminal Code of Canada.”

Earlier this year, PEO said that Harding may have performed at least 80 inspections in the Region of Waterloo in 2021, and did not hold “non-destructive testing certification”.

Following publicity of the charges earlier this year, some unions in the affected areas urged their members to put safety first and ensure that no worksite cranes were inspected by Harding.