A professional engineer has been found guilty of professional misconduct after he certified a structurally unsafe railing design for a new custom home in Wasaga Beach, Ontario. In the case of Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEO) v Iondov, 2025 ONAPE 4 (CanLII), the Discipline Committee of Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEO) found that Gueorgui (George) Iondov, a former professional engineer and president of a steel fabrication company, failed to protect the public by sealing and signing a design drawing for a home’s railing system without performing the necessary safety calculations, creating a potential hazard for the homeowners and their visitors.
The case originated from the construction of a new single-family home at 97 36th Street North in Wasaga Beach. The homeowners, Agnes Maing and her husband, had hired Lines Construction Management Inc. as the general contractor for their project. In early May 2022, Lines Construction subcontracted the job of providing and installing railing systems for an elevated exterior front deck and an interior stairway to Urban Steel Products Inc. (USP), a company where Mr. Iondov served as principal and acting President. The contract explicitly required that the railing systems comply with all applicable sections of the Ontario Building Code.
A dispute arose following an occupancy inspection by a Town of Wasaga Beach building inspector on October 6, 2022. Questions were raised among the homeowners, the general contractor, and USP about whether the design of the newly installed railings met the safety standards mandated by law. In an effort to resolve the issue, Mr. Iondov took a step that would become the focus of the PEO’s investigation. On November 25, 2022, he issued a cover letter on behalf of USP, identifying himself as a professional engineer, or P.Eng. In the letter, he certified that the railing design complied with the Ontario Building Code. A few days later, he provided a copy of the company’s design drawing, which he had stamped with his official P.Eng. seal, signed, and dated November 30, 2022.
The homeowners subsequently filed a formal complaint with the PEO in May 2023, prompting the regulatory body to launch an investigation. PEO retained an independent expert, Steven Adema, P.Eng., from Tacoma Engineering, to review Mr. Iondov’s conduct. The expert’s reports, delivered in March and April 2024, concluded that the railing design Mr. Iondov had certified was, in fact, structurally inadequate. The reports identified critical deficiencies in the top rail, the post, the sleeve connecting the post to its base plate, and the anchorage system. None of these components possessed the strength required to handle the loads specified by the building code. The expert stated that Mr. Iondov had failed to meet the standard of a reasonable and prudent practitioner and that the errors and omissions in the design had direct impacts on public safety.
During the disciplinary proceedings, Mr. Iondov, who represented himself, agreed to the facts presented by the PEO. In a signed statement, he admitted that the design drawing he sealed was a pre-existing company design and that he had not prepared or checked any calculations of its strength or load-bearing capacity before certifying its safety and compliance. He admitted that his actions amounted to negligence, that he failed to make reasonable provision for the safeguarding of life and property, that he failed to comply with applicable codes, and that his conduct was unprofessional. By the time of the hearing, Mr. Iondov’s licence had already been cancelled on December 14, 2023, due to non-payment of fees.
At the disciplinary hearing held on July 14, 2025, the panel accepted Mr. Iondov’s guilty plea. The panel noted its significant concern that because the faulty drawing was a standard company design and not project specific, it may have been used in other construction projects, potentially creating an ongoing danger to the public elsewhere. PEO’s legal counsel gave an undertaking to investigate whether the flawed design was used in other locations.
Based on a joint submission from PEO’s counsel and Mr. Iondov, the discipline panel issued its penalty. Mr. Iondov received a formal reprimand, which will be permanently recorded on the public register. The details of the finding will also be published with his name. The panel did not issue an order for costs. Furthermore, the panel imposed several conditions that will be automatically triggered if Mr. Iondov ever seeks to have his engineering licence reinstated. Upon any future reinstatement, his licence would be immediately suspended for two months. Following the suspension, a permanent restriction would be placed on his licence, prohibiting him from providing any structural engineering services. This restriction can only be lifted if he successfully demonstrates his competence by passing the PEO’s Elementary Structural Design examination. The panel concluded that this penalty structure was not contrary to the public interest and appropriately balanced public protection, deterrence, and the potential for rehabilitation. The oral reprimand was delivered to Mr. Iondov at the conclusion of the hearing on July 31, 2025.
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