2023 August

To help you keep on top of upcoming deadlines, the Ministry of Government Relations publishes the following calendars to help you:

• Municipal Administrators’ Legislative and Operational Calendar (rural and urban)
• Northern Administrators’ Legislative and Operational Calendar

These calendars are just some of the many documents, forms and guides produced by our ministry that are available for download from the Publications Centre. Check it out!

The Construction Codes Act (the CC Act) and The Building Code Regulations (BC Regulations) provide the current legislative framework for local authorities to appoint licensed building officials to conduct plan reviews and inspections associated with construction standards.

A licensing program for building officials has been in place in Saskatchewan since 1997. Local authorities have the right to ask if a building official has a valid licence and the class for that licence. It’s important for municipal staff to understand the licensing program so they can hire the right qualified building official to meet their needs.

Licence Classes

Building official licensing (BOL) has three distinct classes of licences, based on the administration and enforcement of certain sections in the National Building Code of Canada (NBC) and the National Energy Code of Canada for Buildings (NECB). Licensed building officials can review plans, inspect buildings and enforce services on behalf of a local authority for the buildings identified for their class:

• Class 1
  Residential buildings within the scope of Part 9 of the NBC that contain one or two unit dwelling units, including residential buildings in which either or both of the dwelling units contain a secondary suite.
• Class 2
  Any buildings within the scope of Part 9 of the NBC and within the scope of Part 9 and that are constructed in accordance with the requirements of the NECB.
• Class 3
  Any buildings within the scope of the NBC and the NECB.

In addition, a building official may have a secondary class called Temporary or Restricted, that limits the licence to actions stipulated by the Chief Codes Administrator for project-specific work.

The BOL program allows officials with a valid licence in one class to advance to the next licence class after successfully completing certain exams (i.e., Class 1 licence holders can move up to Class 2, while Class 2 holders can advance to a Class 3 licence). Most building officials work towards obtaining their Class 3 licence so they can inspect all buildings within the scope of the NBC and the NECB.

Disciplinary Measures

Building officials can be subject to disciplinary measures as described under Section 28 of the BC Regulations. These disciplinary measures may include a suspension, revocation or downgrade of their licence. For example, building officials can have their licences suspended if it’s proven they conducted a plan review, inspection, or enforcement of a construction project that was found to be outside of the scope of their current BOL class.

Questions

If you have any question about the BOL program or about a building official’s licence, please contact the Building and Technical Standards Branch at btstandards@gov.sk.ca or call 306-787-4113.

When a provincial election or byelection is held in Saskatchewan, municipalities and other organizations must follow requirements for infrastructure signage as described under The Election Act, 1996.

The municipal infrastructure signage requirements were lifted as of August 11, 2023, for communities within the constituencies of Lumsden-Morse and for the City of Regina.