WorkSafeBC

To comply with the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA) and the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT), WorkSafeBC has implemented a process for accepting the credentials of workers trained or certified in Canadian jurisdictions to meet regulatory compliance in British Columbia.

Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT)

One of the purposes of the Agreement is to eliminate or reduce measures that restrict labour mobility in Canada. To that end, the BC Government agreed to recognize workers already certified in another province/territory (that is, certified, licensed, or registered by a regulatory authority) as eligible for certification in BC.

Labour mobility occurs when certified workers from other jurisdictions are recognized without any additional training, experience, examinations or assessments.

Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA)

This Agreement applies to regulators in BC and Alberta that relate to trade, investment, and labour mobility. Regulators mutually recognize or otherwise reconcile their existing standards and regulations that operate to restrict or impair trade, investment or labour mobility.

Labour mobility occurs when certified workers from other jurisdictions are recognized without any additional training, experience, examinations or assessments.

More information about the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA) between the Provinces of Alberta and BC is available on the web site of BC's Ministry of Small Business, Technology and Economic Development.

In accordance with the labour mobility requirements in the Agreements, WorkSafeBC will recognize any worker who has current certification in an occupation from a Canadian regulatory authority as qualified to work in BC provided:

• The certificate is a condition of employment under the Workers Compensation Act of BC and/or the WorkSafeBC Occupational Health and Safety Regulation;
• The competencies related to the out-of-jurisdiction certification applies to competencies required for the same work in BC; and
• The worker complies with the WorkSafeBC registration application process for the occupation.

As of April 1, 2009, workers certified by, or for, a regulatory authority in Canada, will present their certificates to a BC agency and, in accordance with the registration application procedure, be issued with a BC certificate. The BC certificate will have an expiry date that matches the expiry date on out-of-jurisdiction certificate, if applicable, and a statement that indicates it is an "out-of-jurisdiction" certificate.

To find out more about specific occupations, please select from the list.

Questions about the process for achieving BC certification should be directed to Certification Services at 604-276-3090.

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