Inspection Services During the City of Vancouver’s Labour Dispute
During the City of Vancouver labour dispute, inspection services will not be available. The City of Vancouver has identified that Professional Engineers may carry out “inspection services,” normally carried out by City of Vancouver inspectors, in order for construction to proceed on building projects in the City of Vancouver that have a current building permit. These inspections cover electrical, plumbing and gas services.
A notice entitled, “Inspection Services During Labour Dispute” has been posted on the City of Vancouver’s website at www.vancouver.ca/jobaction/InspectionServices.htm.
APEGBC is supportive of this initiative. However APEGBC would like to bring the following matters to the attention of Professional Engineers who are considering providing such inspection services:
- You must have the appropriate training and experience to carry out the “inspection services” identified on the above referenced City of Vancouver website.
- Any “inspection services” provided are in addition to the field review services carried out and documented through the Letters of Assurance (LOA) issued under the City of Vancouver Building Bylaw.
- Where appropriate, consideration should be given to having a different professional engineer carry out any “inspection services” than carried out the field review services under the LOA.
- Any documentation provided by a professional engineer to confirm that “inspection services” have been carried out is to follow the words contained in the APEGBC endorsed LOA, i.e., under the first bullet in the “Building Inspection” paragraph within the City of Vancouver’s bulletin “Inspection Services During Labour Dispute,” the statement provided by the professional engineer needs to be modified from that shown to read “the work substantially complies with the applicable Bylaw and/or standards, excluding those related to construction safety.”
Professional engineers coordinating and/or engaging other consultants regarding the provision of professional services on building projects in the City of Vancouver are required to make these consultants aware of the City of Vancouver’s position regarding this matter.