Legislation Governments are responsible for protecting the public interest and the collective good. To accomplish these crucial roles, they create legislation and regulations to ensure that the public interest will be served. Because of the important role engineers play, governments have set certain limits for the profession, defining standards and expectations for the qualification and ethical behaviour of professional engineers. To govern the profession of engineering in Canada, each and every provincial and territorial government also has an act that: Defines the range of activities which may be considered as "engineering," including the scope of practice for engineers, and which professional activities are so critical to public safety and the public good that only a licensed engineer can undertake them; Creates or recognizes provincial or territorial engineering licensing bodies, describing how they are to be governed and mandating them to carry out tasks like licensing and regulating the profession; and Outlines the regulations pertaining to the profession of engineering, such as who can use the term "engineer," what academic qualifications are required to be a professional engineer and how professional misconduct should be handled. For a detailed look at the engineering act in your province or territory, refer to the Web sites for each engineering licensing body.