Effective April 1, 2009, British Columbia is in compliance with the terms of the BC / AB Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA) and the Canadian Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT).
The Industry Training Authority will recognize individuals who were qualified / certified in other Canadian jurisdictions and remain in good standing in those jurisdictions as qualified to practice the same or a substantially similar occupation in BC without significant additional training, experience, examinations or assessment of qualifications.
What is TILMA?
TILMA enhances worker mobility between BC and Alberta through mutual recognition of qualifications issued by provincial authorities and applies to all trades and occupations. This is intended to reduce the time and costs for workers’ relocating between Alberta and BC, expanding the labour market and allowing qualified workers to work in their field of expertise in either province. TILMA is also intended to make it easier for businesses to recruit qualified workers to fill job vacancies as they arise.
TILMA requires that individuals qualified / certified in one province must be recognized as qualified to practice the occupation in the other without significant additional training, experience, examinations or assessments of qualifications. This eliminates the need for a certificate exchange, because both provinces recognize certificates issued -- with or without a Red Seal -- by either the Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training Board or its predecessors or by the BC Industry Training Authority or its predecessors.
What is NOT covered by TILMA?
Note that mutual recognition of qualifications does not remove a worker’s obligation to meet provincial Occupational Health and Safety or licensing requirements for regulated trades such as electricians, crane operators, water well drillers and so forth. TILMA has no effect on labour standards, labour codes, minimum wage laws, employment insurance or workers’ compensation.
How can I determine which trade certificates will be recognized by BC and Alberta?
ITA and the Alberta Ministry of Advanced Education and Technology will maintain and post on their websites an updated list of mutually-recognized certificates, and each will notify the other as additional certificates are recognized and when changes are made to the scope, standards and requirements of existing trade training programs and certificates.
Letters below from both BC and Alberta provinces contain tables listing the comparable trades that will be recognized.
Click here to read the BC Letter, outlining which Alberta trades certificates will be recognized in BC (PDF)
Click here to read the Alberta Letter, outlining which BC trades certificates will be recognized in Alberta (PDF)
What is AIT?
AIT is an agreement signed by all provinces, territories and the federal government in 1994, for the purpose of reducing barriers to the movement of persons, goods, services and investments within Canada.
What does Chapter 7 – Labour Mobility – do?
Chapter 7 deals with elimination of labour mobility barriers. Chapter 7 eliminates requirements imposed on certified workers moving across Canadian jurisdictions whereby their qualifications obtained in one province or territory were not recognized by another without the individual meeting residency requirements or having to obtain substantial additional training, experience or assessment as a condition of practicing their trade or occupation.
Effective April 1, 2009, AIT requires that individuals qualified / certified in one Canadian province or territory must be recognized as qualified to practice the occupation in any other without significant additional training, experience, examinations or assessment of qualifications. This eliminates the need for a certificate exchange, since when a worker moves between jurisdictions certificates issued elsewhere will be recognized.
What occupations are covered?
AIT’s labour mobility provisions apply to those occupations for which provincial certification is available or required, based on an assessment that certifies the worker as qualified to provincial or territorial standards. In the case of a tradesperson this means a fully-qualified / certified individual.
How will this affect a certified tradesperson?
Workers holding Red Seal-endorsed certification will continue to be recognized as qualified in any Canadian province or territory and will not require duplicate certification in another jurisdiction if they relocate. In addition, if a worker holds a provincial or territorial Certificate of Apprenticeship or Certificate of Qualification without Red Seal endorsement, and relocates to another jurisdiction where a similar occupation exists, the certificate must be recognized.
Are there any exceptions?
In rare cases, a province can request an "exception" to recognizing a particular certification. This requires that the province demonstrate that there is a critical difference in scope of practice or certification requirements such that recognition would pose a risk to the public or the environment. Exceptions are rare and must be approved by the provincial or territorial government and posted on a public website. Exceptions are open to challenge by the other provinces and territories.
In cases where the work in the jurisdiction issuing a qualification is similar enough that it is still the same occupation in the destination jurisdiction, but there is some additional aspect that is part of the occupation that workers from other provinces or territories are not competent to perform and which involves significant risk of harm to public health and safety, the environment, or consumer protection, there may be a requirement for some additional training or other requirements which can be imposed. These substantive additional requirements must be approved by the provincial or territorial government and publicly posted as an "exception" to full labour mobility.
Note: The only exception currently identified by BC is for Quebec lawyers.
Requiring an incoming worker to complete minimal training specific to the jurisdiction (e.g. local jurisprudence or building code short-courses as opposed to significant additional training or resident experience requirements) is allowed, and is not considered to be a breach of the mobility provisions.
Regulated occupations / trades in BC and contacts for more information:
Click here  for a list of occupations and contacts for regulatory organizations in BC.
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