The original Certification program of Class 1, 2, 3 and 4 Certificates which began in 1975 effectively ended on December 19th,1996 when Bill Pr67 received Royal Assent. As part of the implementation of the C.P.S.I. Certification program, two grandfathering clauses were established to recognize certificates issued under the original program.

Clause one stated that Applicants for C.P.S.I that were certified as a Class 1 Inspector prior to December 19, 1996 had to complete an application form and pay a $25 fee on or before December 31st, 1998; clause two stated that applicants certified as a Class 1 Inspector after December 19th, 1996 and prior to December 31st 1998 were required to complete the application form, pay the same fee and to have completed the Legal Processes and Responsibilities course or equivalent on or before December 31st, 1998. Recipients of a Class 4, 3 or 2 Certificate had this two year period during which they could apply to have their Certificate upgraded to a Class 1 so that they could apply for C.P.S.I. using the requirements of clause two.

Effective January 1st, 1999 all applications for Certification as C.P.S.I, were treated as new applications regardless of whether or not an applicant was in possession of a Class 1 through 4 Certificate issued under the original program. The Certificates issued under the original program are still recognized by this Association, however, existing ones can not be upgraded, nor will new applications for Certification under this program be accepted.

Initially the Certification Requirements for C.P.S.I. consisted of a number of different qualification options which were based on education, whether or not the applicant held a Certificate of Qualification as a Plumber or a diploma from a Professional Organization regarding plumbing and so on. Each option required that the applicant had four full years acceptable experience and that the applicant had completed various courses depending on their background and education or, alternatively, successfully complete the qualification exam.

The CRC originally listed a number of courses that it considered as valid plumbing courses that could be used to achieve C.P.S.I. status. Further, the committee established a policy that courses could apply for equivalency status and be validated as plumbing courses subject to a review by the CRC and Education Committees. This initial program was abandoned soon after its development however. There were a number of reasons for this including a lack of courses deemed to be equivalent to the requirements of the CRC for C.P.S.I. status, questions on how to evenly apply equivalency to courses that could be submitted, quality of the course, exam and instructor, etc.

For these reasons, the CRC and the OPIA Executive, adopted the policy that all applicants for C.P.S.I., regardless of education or skill level, were to successfully complete the Qualification Exam with a minimum of 70% in each part and that each applicant was to have four years acceptable experience. It is important to note that anyone who is a member of OPIA in good standing may challenge the exam regardless of experience. In the event the exam is successfully completed and an applicant does not have four years experience, a Certificate of Achievement is issued. Once the required experience has been achieved, C.P.S.I. may be issued subject to an application for an upgrade to C.P.S.I.

CPSI Certification Requirements

Applicant Must:

be a member of OPIA Inc. in good standing, and
complete an application form, and
submit a non-refundable certification fee of $132.00 dollars, and
complete four (4) full years of acceptable experience, and
successfully complete a qualification exam.