NANAIMO — B.C. has become the first province in Canada to require worksites to carry specific qualifications when dealing with asbestos.
Effective Monday, Jan. 1, only WorkSafeBC licensed companies using appropriately credentialled employees or contractors can perform asbestos removal work province wide.
Mary Lovelace, director of prevention services, said the new rules formalize a process months in the making to ensure the dangerous work is being carried out properly.
“We’ve had a lot of training providers be designated to carry this training program, these are available on our website and they have capacity to do the training required for certification. We now have issued a large number of worker certifications, so we believe we’ve got that in place and the people that know how to do this work.”
The licensing process for companies can take between two and six weeks and must be renewed annually. Those applying will not be charged a fee to apply for their license.
Individual worker certifications through the training program will be valid for three years.
Workers and companies accredited are then added to an online registry which will allow other companies, businesses and homeowners to ensure they’re dealing with a properly certified contractor.
“This is really about having clarity, about who has the license to undertake this work, who knows how to undertake this work safely,” Lovelace said. “Failing to do so could result in a project being stalled, delayed and potentially extra expenses being added if the work needs to be restarted or remediated.”
New rules were enacted by the province through amendments to the Workers Compensation Act in spring 2022.
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