The Architectural Institute of British Columbia (AIBC) is officially under the authority of the Professional Governance Act (PGA) as of February 10, 2023. The Architects Act has been repealed, and the architectural profession is governed by the PGA and its regulations.
The AIBC encourages registrants to review the following regulatory authority materials, including the new Architects Regulation and AIBC Bylaws:
Professional Governance Act
The legislation that governs the profession of architecture in British Columbia.
Architects Regulation
The Architects Regulation addresses transitional items and elements that were previously in the Architects Act, including establishing the “reserved practice” for architects (formerly Section 60, or the ‘exceptions’), and reserved titles.
AIBC Bylaws
The new AIBC Bylaw document is a comprehensive, single-source document for the regulation of the architectural profession in British Columbia. A series of Schedules can be found at the end of the Bylaws, including the Fee schedule, the Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, a number of Council Rules, and Administrative Guidelines regarding specific AIBC requirements and programs.
While the new legislation adds 12 ethical principles to the Code of Ethics, the law doesn’t result in any substantive changes to professional standards. However, the PGA does change several aspects of AIBC governance, programs, and current processes, such as: the Continuing Education System (non-compliance); the disciplinary processes; the AIBC Volunteer Program; Committee structures; AIBC Council composition and the Council election; as well as general terminology and references.
While the legal transition has occurred and the profession is now under new legislation, and key regulatory documents such as AIBC Bylaws have been updated and published, further refinement will be taking place over the coming weeks and months. The AIBC is taking a phased approached to updating content, and registrants will notice that not all material on the website is reflective of the new legislation. The AIBC will continue to update the suite of documents, processes, and webpages. Registrants will be notified of new versions of AIBC documents via the website.
The AIBC will be hosting an online Town Hall in the spring to provide registrants with another opportunity to learn more about the transition to the PGA.
