Welcome to 2023. The SBOA spring Conference was held in Swift Current, SK at the Living Sky Casino. The venue was spectacular and a great place to host the conference. Our host chair Cynthia Starchuk did a great job setting up the host venue and bringing some local content to the conference. Thank you, Cynthia for your hard work. And a huge thank you to our conference chair Neil Marsh and his committee for the informative and educational presentations they organize every conference. This conference brought in more than 100 attendees in person and virtually. It is great to see the success of our conferences carry on year-after-year. Lastly, none of our conferences go on smoothly without the continued efforts of our entire Board of Directors. Thank you all for the time and effort you put into this association and working toward the interests of Building Officials throughout the province.
Consultation on Proposed Amendments to the Building, Energy and Plumbing Code Regulations
On February 1st, 2023 the team at Building and Technical Standards Branch sent out a consultation package outlining proposed changes to the noted Regulations. A copy of these changes and the package was forward out to all SBOA members for review and comments. Overall, there were not many comments submitted by members. One comment that was largely discussed at our BOD meeting was the protection regarding a Building Officials licence. More specifically, what safeguards are in place for complaints filed against a Building Official in the Province of Saskatchewan. It was noted that the entire process appears to rest solely with the Chief Codes Administrator with no guidelines on who, how and what steps are conducted during an investigation.
After a quick review, it does not appear there are any documented procedures regarding complaints. Furthermore, there appear to be an obvious concern when compared to Alberta’s publicly documented “Complaints Investigation Process” that is similar to other professions and the protections provided to them to allow for procedural fairness in the review of complaints against their profession. Lastly, it was noted in the concern that more powers are being provided to the Chief Codes Administrator in the regulation change as well and may be cause for concern that no process is still in place for Complaints.
As a board this topic was discussed thoroughly, upon which it was agreed that this type of concern should likely be reviewed by a lawyer to gauge the severity of the concern raised. The BOD’s did agree that this is a concern for all licenced Building Officials in the province and should be investigated to ensure that all Building Officials are provided their right to procedural fairness during an investigation into any complaints raised against them. A motion was passed to consult a legal opinion on the concern raised with the regulation changes in mind, with the understanding that there may be more work to be done to ensure Building Officials in the Province of Saskatchewan have the same protections as other professions.
Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency
A letter was received from Marlo Pritchard, President and Fire Commissioner of SPSA regarding “Enforcing Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Requirements and the 2020 National Fire Code of Canada”. This letter was sent out to members for comment to be submitted to SPSA.
Legislative Framework Training (LFT) – Building and Technical Standards Branch
The group from Government Regulation’s – Building and Technical Standards Branch are putting on Legislative Framework Training throughout the year. Sessions were held on April 24th and 25th. In addition to these training sessions there are opportunities to challenge the exam for those who have taken the Online LFT training. Continue to watch for new dates coming up throughout the year.
Adoption of the 2020 National Building Code, Energy Code and Plumbing Code
As the Province looks to adopt the 2020 Construction Codes as of January 1, 2024, Building Officials around the Province will be looking to update themselves on these changes.
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