Demolition licensed contractor information

A demolition contractor licence allows companies to obtain permits to perform demolition work governed by the Winnipeg Building By-law. To qualify for a City of Winnipeg demolition contractor licence, companies must meet the following criteria:

• COR or SECOR certification (D1 and D2 licences only)
• Verification of appropriate liability insurance (D1 and D2 licences only); certificate of insurance must indicate that operations include demolition
• Pay the contractor licence fee

How to obtain a demolition contractor licence:

Your City of Winnipeg demolition contractor licence is issued to the company. Your company is responsible for all demolition work performed under permits obtained via the licence. The contact information provided to us is assumed to be current information. If information has changed, email contractorlicence@winnipeg.ca.

As a demolition contractor, you are expected to be familiar with, and comply with, the administrative and technical requirements of the Winnipeg Building By-law and the Planning, Development and Building Fees and Charges schedule, which outline the demolition contractor's responsibilities, the permit procedure, and penalties.

Your licence may be suspended or revoked if you have violated any of the provisions of the Winnipeg Building By-law, the Manitoba Building Code or the conditions of your licence. This includes engaging in work without a permit where a permit is required or failure to call for inspection.

Utility disconnection: It is the licensed demolition contractor's responsibility to ensure that all utilities, including electricity and natural gas, are in an appropriate state for the building demolition. The contractor must ensure that arrangements have been made with Manitoba Hydro and other utility providers prior to commencing demolition.

Licensed companies must be aware of the following conditions, which must be acknowledged and signed as part of the licensing application process.

• Applicable fees as outlined in the Planning, Development and Building Fees and Charges schedule.
• The company must inform the City where any revision of work is made regarding the scope of work approved under the subject permit.
• The company licence may be suspended or revoked if the company has violated any of the provisions of the Winnipeg Building By-law, the Manitoba Building Code or the conditions of this licence. This includes engaging in work without a permit where a permit is required.
• The company contractor licence is intended to be continuous and if not renewed by the expiry date noted on the licence, a late fee will be added to the cost. Licence renewal reminders will be sent via email; paper copies may not be mailed.
• The company must declare the value of the work, which shall include permanent or fixed equipment and devices as well as the labour, materials, and other devices necessary to complete the work for which the permit is being sought.
• For D1 or D2 licence holders, the company will receive an email identifying its association with a permit applied for by a licensed D-Prime contractor, and if not associated with that permit, must contact the City immediately to indicate such.
• For D-Prime licence holders:
• The work proposed on a D-Prime demolition permit application must be performed by a licensed D1 or D2 contractor, as applicable, and the licensed contractor must be identified on the permit application.
• If the company incorrectly identifies a licensed D1 or D2 contractor on a permit application, the application or permit will be immediately cancelled and a non-refundable administration fee withheld, and re-application will be necessary.
• Where the licensed D1 or D2 contractor identified on a demolition permit is no longer performing the work as specified on the permit, the licensed D-Prime company shall notify the City in writing of the new licensed D1 or D2 demolition contractor that will be performing the work.

COR or SECOR certification is a condition of your City of Winnipeg D1 or D2 demolition contractor licence. The Construction Safety Association of Manitoba and the Manitoba Heavy Construction Association provide COR/SECOR training and certification. The company's COR/SECOR certification must include safe work procedures related to demolition work.

Your contractor licence will be suspended if the COR or SECOR certification is revoked or not maintained. The suspension does not carry a financial penalty however, if the contractor licence is suspended, your company is not eligible to obtain permits for demolition work. Additionally, a suspended company cannot be listed under a D-Prime application as the licensed D1 or D2 contractor. Once COR or SECOR certification is re-established, the suspension will be lifted.

Companies with a D1 or D2 contractor licence are required to maintain liability insurance coverage, which may include pollution liability if hazardous materials are involved. Liability insurance requirements are as follows:

• D1 - minimum $5 million per occurrence
• D2 - minimum $2 million per occurrence
• Certificate of insurance must indicate that operations include demolition

The City of Winnipeg, Risk Management Division, Insurance Branch will determine if the liability insurance certificate submitted is acceptable and will monitor expiry. Approximately two weeks before expiry, the Insurance Branch will contact the licensed contractor and the insurance broker and request a renewal certificate of insurance. If a renewal certificate is not provided before the expiry date, the contractor licence will be suspended until a renewal certificate is provided and processed by the Insurance Branch.

The suspension does not carry a financial penalty but, companies with suspended licences cannot apply for new demolition permits nor can they be listed as the licensed D1 or D2 contractor under a new D-Prime permit application. A suspension notice will be emailed to licence administrators upon certificate expiry.

All newly licensed contractors will automatically be sent a Permits Online registration email. Once registration is complete, you will have access to Permits Online where you can pay for permits, track the status of applications and permits, and pay your contractor licence renewal fee. In addition, administrators can pay the contractor licence renewal fee. If you need assistance, contact Contractor Licensing at contractorlicence@winnipeg.ca or 204-986-5189.

The City publishes an updated list of licensed demolition contractors daily. Only the company name and the type of licence is published. This is not optional; all active licensed contractors are published. If there are any errors in published information, notify us of required changes at contractorlicence@winnipeg.ca.

Administrators:

• are authorized to apply for permits under the company contractor licence
• have permission to modify the administrators and authorized signees associated with the company licence
• serve as the primary contact for the licence
• serve as the alternate contact if the permit applicant is unavailable

Administrators are typically company owners, a person designated as a contract administrator or others having authority in the company. It is mandatory to name at least one administrator.

In the case where an administrator retires, suddenly passes or otherwise leaves the company:

• If there is more than one administrator linked to the licence, simply request the inactive administrator be removed from the licence.
• If the inactive administrator is the only administrator associated with the licence, a new licence administrator must be in place for the company before the departure of the inactive administrator, if possible.

Any staff members, in addition to the administrator(s), who may be submitting permit applications on behalf of the company, must be listed as an authorized signee under the company licence.

To add authorized signees, new applicants can complete the authorized signee portion of the Licensed Demolition Contractor Application form.  Existing contractors can request a current Contractor Information Update Form by emailing contractorlicence@winnipeg.ca.

Authorized signees must be employed by the company who assumes full responsibility for their permits and their actions in relation to permits obtained on the company's behalf. As permit applicants, authorized signees serve as the main contact for the permits they have obtained. The company remains responsible for active permits obtained by authorized signees even after they have been removed from the licence. Where an authorized signee has been disrespectful to City staff, we may request removal of that signee, or suspend the contractor licence.

Emails are sent regularly at permit-related milestones. These emails are sent to the permit applicant's email address on file and, depending on the permit type, may include the licensed contractor if the permit applicant is an authorized signee. The City's business rules may not suit each company's business practices, so we recommend that you set up your email rules/filters to suit your business needs.

As a demolition contractor, your company licence will be valid for a one-year term, which will expire on the date indicated on the licence. Licensing fees can be found in the Planning, Development and Building Fees and Charges schedule.

• Approximately one and a half months before the licence expiry date, you will receive a notice about the upcoming expiry and accepted methods of payment.
• Prior to expiry, reminder emails will be sent to the email address(es) on file.
• At each licence renewal, administrators will be asked to confirm the company contact information and that of the administrators and any authorized signees.
• A late fee will be applied to all licence renewals made after the expiry date, with no exceptions.

Your company contractor licence is intended to be continuous. Should the licence not be renewed within six months of the expiry date, it will become invalid and the company must re-qualify as per the qualifications and requirements noted above, and pay the re-application fee. If the company allows the contractor licence to expire beyond six months, the company is still responsible for all active permits under the licence until they are closed or cancelled.

If closing a business or opting to not renew a licence:

1. We cannot transfer permits to another company's contractor licence. Permit applications and issued permits where no inspections have taken place may be cancelled and applied for under another contractor licence.
2. As a licensed contractor, the company is responsible for all work associated with permits obtained under its licence. The company remains responsible for active permits obtained by administrators and/or authorized signees who have been removed from the licence.
3. A plan must be in place for closing all active permits under the company licence before the licence expires. If additional time to complete active projects is required, the licence must be renewed until project completion. Active permits can be viewed using Permits Online.
4. If closing the company before the completion of all active projects, where another separate company is taking over the project(s) to completion:
   1. a new permit must be in place before the original permit is closed
   2. the administrator must coordinate the closure of the original permit with the appropriate Inspections Branch
5. Contact the appropriate Inspections Branch to schedule final inspections and ensure all active permits are closed.