Public editor: Shortening a job title can be misleading

Share

Here's a great question from a reader about how we describe someone when not all the information is known.

The reader asked why the story on CityNews TV reporter Shauna Hunt's challenge to soccer fans over a vulgar sexual comment called the man she interviewed, and who was later fired by Hydro One, an engineer.

According to the Ontario Sunshine List, Shawn Simoes is an assistant network management engineer at Hydro One. Or perhaps was.

So, is it fair to describe him in short form as an engineer? It certainly is or was part of his job title.

The reader said he was very glad to see action being taken to curb this hooliganism, but he did a little research. "I was able to locate him listed in a convocation brochure posted online – he graduated in 2006 from Wilfrid Laurier with a Bachelor of Business degree. This means that he is not an engineer – he doesn't have an engineering degree, and unless he has taken additional courses and passed technical exams (since he hasn't graduated from an accredited engineering program), he cannot in fact hold himself out as an engineer, under provincial legislation.

"I'm drawing your attention to this inaccuracy, because while engineering students have had a history of poor behaviour, the engineering profession has been working very diligently to stamp out boorish behaviour amongst male engineering students, and to provide a more welcoming environment for women in engineering. This inaccuracy has the potential to be cited as yet another instance of boorish engineering behaviour, when in fact the individual involved in this instance is not an engineer."

The reader, who is a professional engineer, is correct that in the past, university engineering was an overwhelmingly male group and there was some bad behaviour. But that was years ago in universities and Mr. Simoes is an adult with a public-sector job.

Part of the problem is, Hydro One will not confirm that Mr. Simoes is the employee in question.

The Globe and Mail's reporter also checked Professional Engineers Ontario, the regulating body that oversees the licensing for engineering in the province, and it has no listing for a Shawn Simoes in its directories of practitioners.

I think the reader is correct that there is doubt about his professional standing and that calling him an engineer could be misleading. So the story will be updated to include his full title.