Quebec promises more inspections on construction sites and a bill this fall

A construction worker is seen working on the site of a new condo development in Montreal, Monday, Feb. 19, 2024. (Christinne Muschi, The Canadian Press)

Quebec Labour Minister Jean Boulet will be tabling a bill in the next few weeks that will address the quality of construction, the protection of the public and the qualification of contractors.

"'We're going to be looking at the quality of construction, the safety of Quebecers and the qualifications of contractors. So, in the long term, this will help us to build better," said Boulet, who was speaking in Montreal on Tuesday to industry people and organizations in the field.

The Residential Construction Guarantee (GCR) organization also took the opportunity to announce that under its five-year plan, by 2029, it will gradually be inspecting new homes under its jurisdiction not once but three times, including once before the walls are closed.

GCR administers the Guarantee Plan for New Residential Buildings and looks after buildings of four storeys or less.

The organization currently employs around 20 inspectors and expects to employ close to 100 by the end of its plan in 2029.

GCR vice president of communications François-William Simard said that there are no problems with the training of inspectors or the tools made available to them to carry out their inspections.

"There is a series of tools available to inspectors, and they have access to all the tools they need, for example, if there is something that requires further investigation," he said. "So there's nothing at stake here. And the training of GCR inspectors, it's important to mention, they're all members of a professional order, so they're either architects, technologists or engineers, so the training is there, that's very clear."

Boulet's future bill will go further and will not be limited to residential construction, for example.

It will review the inspection and monitoring model and will also deal with attestations of conformity, the labour minister said at a subsequent meeting with the press.

He has already mandated the Régie du bâtiment du Québec to review the current inspection model with industry partners.

The minister pointed out that beyond the residential sector, "the needs are immense" in the construction of daycare centres, schools, hospitals, roads and industrial projects.

'We have a challenge in Quebec to build more, but that also means building better," said Boulet. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Aug. 27, 2024.