One task, a few approaches, many impacts: Private-sector involvement in Canadian building code enforcement

Abstract

In response to issues about municipal-led regulatory enforcement, governments in Canada have been reforming their regimes of building regulation and control since the 1980s. As a result, private-sector inspectors were introduced as an alternative to local government control on the adherence to building regulations. However, this privatization has resulted in variations among jurisdictions. The main difference is the degree of private-sector involvement. Based on a series of interviews with forty-seven insiders, this article addresses the implications of such differences in privatization on the practice and process of building code enforcement. It draws some general lessons for the redesign of control over building regulations but at the same time warns against copy-pasting best practices.