BC Signs the Construction Reconciliation Agreement
The Province of British Columbia has signed the Construction Codes Reconciliation Agreement (CCRA) under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA). The CCRA is a federal-provincial-territorial agreement related to the harmonization of building, fire, plumbing and other construction codes across Canada. The agreement will affect B.C. codes adopted after 2022.
Harmonizing the provincial/territorial construction codes and the national model codes will help to decrease construction costs and reduce barriers related to manufacturing, operation, inspection, education, and training. It will also promote an open, efficient, and stable domestic market for long-term job creation, economic growth, and stability, and will encourage innovation and competition across Canada by reducing administrative and compliance costs, red tape, and time to market.
Key commitments of the agreement include:
Reducing or eliminating technical variations between the provincial/territorial construction codes and the national model codes;
Timely adoption of the national model codes by the provinces and territories;
Transforming the national code development system to better meet the needs of federal, provincial, and territorial parties; and
Making the national model codes freely available in electronic format.
The full text of the CCRA is available on the CFTA website.
Federal, provincial, and territorial parties have begun work under the agreement to plan the transformation of the national code development system. At this time, the features of the transformed system are still under consideration. The Province is committed to continue working with our valued partners once the new national code development system has been developed.
Further information on the CCRA and its implementation can be found on the Building and Safety Standards Branch website.
