Bylaw Compliance

CRD Bylaws are located in the Document Library.

The CRD Bylaw Services office is located at #212-2780 Veterans Memorial Parkway in Langford, BC.

Office hours are Monday to Friday, 8:30am-4:30pm.

Phone 250.474.3351 or 1.800.665.7899

Fax 250.391.9727

Email bylaw@crd.bc.ca

Before submitting a complaint, we encourage residents to exercise a reasonable degree of tolerance and consider speaking with those responsible for the alleged bylaw infraction to give them an opportunity to correct the issue. If applicable, follow-up with your landlord, condominium corporation or other entity that has the authority to resolve your concerns.

The CRD does not respond to complaints or issues under the jurisdiction of another agency. 

Bylaw enforcement officers do not respond after hours to noise i.e. noisy parties, barking dogs.  To report these types of noise, call the non-emergency number for appropriate Police or RCMP for your area.  For emergencies, call 911.

If you are unable to resolve the issue and the noise does not meet the above exemptions, you can call CRD Bylaw Services at 250.474.3351 or 1.800.665.7899 during regular office hours or submit a complaint online.

The goal is to resolve the issue and achieve compliance with the bylaw. A bylaw enforcement officer will be assigned to respond to your complaints and will contact you according to the assessed priority of the complaints.

Each issue is addressed on a case-by-case basis to make sure reasonable, fair and appropriate actions are taken. If there is a possible bylaw violation, the officer may conduct an investigation, which could include education, mediation, and/or enforcement actions.

In R. v. Turko , the court concluded that bylaw officers, while acting in the course of their duties, have the authority to demand identification. This is an important issue, because should a matter go to trial, it will be necessary to prove the identity of the accused before a conviction can be obtained. 

What are the consequences for not providing identification when lawfully requested by a bylaw officer?

Many local governments have fines for not providing identification to a bylaw officer. In addition, as in R. v. Turko , those that fail to provide identification can also be charged under section 129 (a) of the Criminal Code of Canada for Obstruction of a Peace Officer.

Quick Read:  CircuLawr/Civic Legal LLP- Requesting ID- Bylaw Enforcement Officers' Scope of Authority

Bylaw officers have the authority to enter onto and into private property and a dwelling unit to conduct an inspection.

This authority is found in section 16 of the Community Charter which also applies to regional districts by virtue of section 284 of the Local Government Act.

It is well established that bylaw officers are peace officers as defined in section 2 of the Criminal Code of Canada when acting in the course of their duties. This was confirmed in 2009 in R. v. Jozef Baksay as well as more recently in 2021 R. v. Dennis Lawrence Harrison.

Simply, you may be charged and convicted under the Criminal Code of Canada with Assaulting of a Peace Officer. Such a charge can result in prison, hinder employment opportunity, and travel to foreign countries, amongst other consequences. Review R v. Dennis Lawrence Harrison.

In Woodward v. Capital Regional District , the court considered whether the use of force by bylaw officers during an arrest was justified. The judge found that bylaw officers were justified in using force.