Sam,

In Ontario, where municipal by-laws dictate, all electrical contracting companies require a master electrician.

Ontario's Electrical Reciprocal Licensing Program:

The change to the licensing portion of the Municipal Act gave rise to concern in the electrical contracting industry and it's associations, that the public might be exposed to unqualified participants in their industry. For several years, prior to the change noted above, the need was recognized for the electrical industry to get directly involved in the issue. Hence, ECRA was born.

The Electrical Contractor Registration Agency (ECRA) was formed by the Electrical Contractors Association of Ontario to administer a provincial system that would create an examination for master electricians and, encourage municipalities to adopt a common qualification for master electricians and electrical contractors. The ECRA board of directors is chosen from:

1) Electrical Contractors
2) Electrical Safety Authority
3) Provincial Municipalities

To date, 11 municipalities are part of the Reciprocal Recognition Program:
1) Metro Toronto
2) Hamilton-Wentworth
3) London
4) Ottawa
5) Kitchener
6) Windsor
7) Thunder Bay
8) Guelph
9) Kingston
10) Brantford
11) Barrie


Qualifications of a Master Electrician:

In order to obtain a Master Electrician Qualification, a person must possess a valid Ontario Ministry of Education and Training "Certificate of Qualification" plus have passed the "Master Electrician Examination"

The electrical "Certificate of Qualification" (referred to as C of Q) is usually obtained by completing the Ontario apprenticeship training program and passing the subsequent examination or it's equivalent.

The second qualification is that he/she must be at least 18 years of age. If a Master has not renewed his/her license for two or more consecutive years, he/she may have to be re-examined.

Enforcement:

The enforcement of licensing and the municipal by-laws governing the qualifications and fees are the responsibility of the individual municipality.

It is however noteworthy, that part of the package of changes to the act included a five year "sunset clause". This means that all municipal by-laws (old and new), are only in force for a maximum of five years, after which they must be reviewed.

Tony Moscioni
© Electrical Safety Authority