An Ontario engineer is raising the alarm after his credentials were forged, he says, on documents for construction projects across southern Ontario. 

Early this year, Gerald Catt of Vanessa, Ont., discovered his professional seal and signature were used to confirm the safety of mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems he had never worked on or heard of. 

A CBC investigation has uncovered that similar documents exist for 12 large scale construction and renovation projects spread across Brantford, Cambridge, Hamilton, London, Oakville and Whitby. 

Despite irregularities with how his seal and signature appeared, and that Catt was unknown to some of the building departments, no one ever contacted him to confirm if the documents were legitimate, he said. 

Some of the buildings were found to be open to the public without municipal officials having received a final safety report at all, let alone one of questionable origin. 

Inspections ensure mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems work and are safe, according to Catt, and when reviews are skipped the public is put at risk. 

“These things are in the Ontario building code for a reason,” he said, and building officials should be ensuring the rules are followed.

“I can personally give you a whole list of properties that have never been inspected,” Catt said. “Are they safe? Who knows? Nobody cares.”

“This isn’t unique to Gerald,” said Sandro Perruzza, CEO of the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers, the province’s largest engineer advocacy group.

“I’ve talked to a lot of my members who are consulting engineers and have their own practice and they’ve shared with me similar stories.”

Perruzza says he sees a connection between what Catt has encountered and the Elliot Lake mall tragedy. In 2012, a portion of the roof at the Algo Centre Mall collapsed, killing two women and injuring 19 others. 

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