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ARTICLE · 24 JANUARY 2016

Laying The Foundation – BC's New Building Act Comes Into Force

McCarthy Tétrault
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On December 15, 2015, provisions of the new Building Act came into force, initiating British Columbia's transition toward a more unified, Provincial regime for construction and development regulation.

CanadaReal Estate and Construction
Patrick Beechinor
Patrick Beechinor
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On December 15, 2015, provisions of the new Building Act (the “Act”) came into force, initiating British Columbia’s transition toward a more unified, Provincial regime for construction and development regulation.

As previously reported, the Act's primary purposes are the centralization of regulatory authority with the Province and the standardization of professional qualification and training for building officials.

Among other things, the newly-in-force provisions empower the minister to enact building regulations (Section 3), oust the application of municipal regulations (Section 5), enable government to delegate the administration of the Act to third parties (Sections 14-18), and continue the existing Building Code Appeal Board into the new regime (Section 19).

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