A Vancouver Island People's Party of Canada candidate who ran against Elizabeth May in the last federal election must stop self-describing as an "engineer," a B.C. judge ruled earlier this month. People's Party of Canada buttons are shown at the PPC National Conference in Gatineau, Que., Sunday, Aug. 18, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
VICTORIA – A British Columbia Supreme Court judge has ruled that a Vancouver Island People’s Party of Canada candidate who ran against Elizabeth May in the last federal election must stop describing himself as an engineer.
The decision from Justice Jan Brongers says David Hilderman publicly described himself as an engineer in campaign materials and on social media, while not being a member of the province’s association of professional engineers and geoscientists.
Brongers found that to be a breach of the province’s Professional Governance Act and he ordered Hilderman to stop using the title.
The association filed a lawsuit in 2022 to stop Hilderman from using the word “engineer” as a non-member, claiming it created the “erroneous impression” that he was authorized to practise as a professional engineer.
The judge’s ruling, released Thursday, says Hilderman holds a bachelor of applied sciences from the University of Regina and has worked in the electronics industry.
The decision says the association sent Hilderman a letter in December 2021 demanding that he revise his social media accounts and stop publicly referring to himself as an engineer.
It says Hilderman disagreed with the association’s position, claiming he was merely mentioning his educational background as part of his political campaign rather than holding himself as a professional engineer, as defined in the legislation.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 16, 2023
