WHEREAS the Province of Saskatchewan adopted the National Building Code (NBC) as the minimum standard for the construction of new buildings under provision of The Uniform Building and Accessibility Standards Act (UBAS Act) and delegated the administration and enforcement of the minimum standards to local authorities; and

WHEREAS plan review, inspection and enforcement services are provided by building officials, licensed by the Province and appointed by the local authority; and

WHEREAS the cost of building permit fees is established by each municipality through the building bylaw, with consideration to the costs of the inspection service fees, generally based on the value of construction; and

WHEREAS the expertise of qualified building inspectors, funding and resources are limited within local authorities; and

WHEREAS there is unprecedented potash development anticipated for the province; and

WHEREAS there needs to be a consistent level of building inspection services and permit fee structures for large scale industrial projects between municipalities and within Saskatchewan;

BE IT RESOLVED that SARM lobby the Province to accept responsibility for the implementation of provincial administration and enforcement of minimum standards for the construction of large scale industrial developments.

Response from Honourable Jim Reiter, Minister of Government Relations:

Responsibility for the administration and enforcement of The Uniform Building and Accessibility Standards Act and the building code it adopts, is delegated to municipalities. Municipalities that have passed a building bylaw may hire a building official to undertake inspections and enforcement, often recouping costs through a permitting system. Municipalities should survey the market when choosing a building official to ensure an adequate skill set and acceptable cost. Officials from the ministry are available to assist municipalities with the process of selecting a building official. Alternative compliance methods are being explored, internally, with representatives of SARM, and in discussion with the mining sector.