Quebec's Order of Engineers is accusing 27 Bombardier employees in Montreal and Toronto of falsely representing themselves as members of its profession, Radio-Canada is reporting.

The Order filed the accusations at the end of July.

Accusations levied by the Order against the Bombardier employees include usurping the title of engineer, performing the work of an engineer and using the title of engineer in online professional profiles.

Christine Doherty, a lawyer with Quebec’s Order of Engineers, said those are all illegal practices under Quebec's Engineers Act.

“What we mean by illegal practices is performing the duties of an engineer without being a member of the professional order,” she told Radio-Canada.

At least four of the accused worked on Bombardier’s CSeries aircraft. According to the Order, they prepared an aeronautics report entitled “CSeries FTV configuration requirements” without being members of Quebec’s Order of Engineers.

The majority of those accused worked on projects related to the Global 7000 and Global 8000 business jets without being members of the Order.

The Order has also accused Bombardier of “knowingly leading, by authorization, counsel, order or encouragement [the employees in question] “to perform a professional activity reserved for members of Quebec’s Order of Engineers.”

Bombardier faces a total maximum fine of $300,000.

Bombardier promises to challenge accusations

In an interview with Radio-Canada, Bombardier said it will challenge the Quebec Order of Engineers' accusations.

Isabelle Gauthier, a spokesperson for the company, said the engineers' credentials are not in doubt and meet Transport Canada criteria.

Gauthier said Bombardier's unique status in Canada as the only maker of airplanes means its engineers need federal certification, not provincial.

"The federal government takes the lead on this... so it's responsible for defining the [professional] criteria necessary for the security of our products and ultimately the security of our passengers," she said.