2024 April

The Ministry of Government Relations has published new educational material that can assist municipalities in amending their zoning bylaw and understand when to hold public hearings under The Planning and Development Act, 2007.

• Zoning Bylaw Amendment Webinar – This 14-minute webinar assists municipalities and the public in understanding what a zoning bylaw is, and the steps involved to amend the bylaw. The webinar addresses how a zoning bylaw fits into the land use planning framework and includes considerations for a council when deciding to amend the bylaw.
• Conducting a Public Hearing Guide – The Act requires a public hearing be held when a municipality is adopting specific bylaws. This guide provides municipal councils and administrations with best practices for conducting a public hearing.

If you have any questions about the above resources or land use planning in general, please contact the Community Planning Branch at 306-787-2725 or 306-933-6937 or communityplanning@gov.sk.ca.

All local authorities in Saskatchewan must have a building bylaw under The Construction Codes Act (CC Act). Failure to do so will result in The Building Code Regulations (the BC Regulations) model building bylaw being automatically applied, which the local authority must then administer and enforce as if it is their own bylaw.

The CC Act includes regional park authorities, as defined by The Regional Parks Act, 2013, as being a local authority for the purpose of administering and enforcing the CC Act. Under the BC Regulations, regional park authorities are required to have their own building bylaw by December 31, 2024. Any regional park authority which does not have its own approved building bylaw by this date will have the model building bylaw applied to them. However, under The Municipalities Act, regional parks can use a neighbouring municipality’s building bylaw where a written agreement between the regional park authority and the municipality is in effect. A regional park authority would need to provide Building and Technical Standards Branch a copy of this written agreement for the regional park authority to be considered in compliance with an approved building bylaw.

Local authorities preparing a building bylaw must submit two certified, true copies to the Building and Technical Standards Branch within 60 days of council’s bylaw approval to receive ministerial approval. Bylaws cannot be submitted electronically or through email. Building bylaws are not valid until they receive ministerial approval, which can take up to 60 days.

Regional park authorities are encouraged to contact the Building and Technical Standards Branch before adopting, amending or repealing their building bylaw to ensure wording complies with legislative requirements.

If you have questions, please contact Building and Technical Standards Branch at 306-787-4113 or btstandards@gov.sk.ca.

The Ministry of Highways is updating its critical transportation stakeholders in the trucking sector about their roles related to an important change coming this spring to improve safety.

The Security of Loads Regulations in Saskatchewan were updated to better align with the National Safety Code Standard 10 for cargo securement and to enhance clarity for police and industry. The update is also intended to help reduce potential hazards for motorists, such as broken windshields due to bulk cargo not being properly secured.

Effective June 1, bulk loads not fully contained will require covering by a tarp or other appropriate material (such as canvas, wire mesh, netting) to prevent materials becoming dislodged from the vehicle or load container during transport.

This update doesn’t apply to collecting refuse while the vehicle is being loaded or being moved during loading; for construction work within the limits of a project on a public road; and for snow removal or winter maintenance on a public road by designated authorities. To see the specific regulations with more details, visit Saskatchewan’s Publications Centre.

Truckers are also reminded to visit saskatchewan.ca/trucking for information about provincial trucking programs, weight classifications and restrictions.

Last month, you learned that a new, modern municipal directory will be launched this spring. We thank those who responded to our request to update their records in the current directory’s database.

The current directory is now frozen and will not be updated. However during the interim, you can submit any changes to your municipality’s record using this temporary form so we can include your updates in the new application.

We are hoping to launch the new municipal directory sometime in May. Watch for an email from the Ministry of Government Relations on launch day that contains the new municipal directory’s web address so you can update your bookmarks and websites.

Thank you for your patience during this transition period.