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New Construction Codes Act coming to Saskatchewan aims to align codes and accessibility standards

Saskatchewan – The Saskatchewan government recently passed The Construction Codes Act, Bill 4, in the Legislative Assembly, which will allow better alignment between construction codes and accessibility standards.

This includes how accessibility standards are applied to buildings and is meant to ensure people with disabilities can better access and use buildings in Saskatchewan.

The new Construction Codes Act (CCA) repeals and replaces The Uniform Building and Accessibility Standards Act and will come into effect on Jan. 1, 2022. It will continue to oversee how construction standards are developed, adopted and implemented in the province. The CCA also modernizes the powers and responsibilities for building owners, local authorities, building officials and the construction industry.

Key changes in the new Construction Codes Act include:

Local authorities can register an interest on a building title for unresolved building official orders. This will allow potential purchasers to make an informed decision about a building before buying it.
Local authorities have the choice to develop their own building bylaws or use a default building bylaw to be prescribed in regulation.
Allows for regional co-operation between local authorities to administer and enforce construction standards across multiple jurisdictions.
Local authorities can request the Ministry of Government Relations to assist them during a province-wide or local emergency by appointing officials, issuing building permits and authorizing building renovations as necessary to support the emergency response.
The Minister of Government Relations can make binding interpretations on construction codes to address Saskatchewan-specific concerns.

“The CCA allows Saskatchewan’s Construction Standards Appeal Board to make binding pre-rulings to individual buildings when the code is being interpreted differently between the building owner, local authority, designer and contractor,” said Government Relations Minister Don McMorris. “This will help designers and builders obtain design decisions in a timely manner and ensure they are in compliance with Saskatchewan’s legislative requirements.”

For more information, visit saskatchewan.ca/btstandards.