Office of the Assisted Living Registrar

Legislative History

British Columbia is the first province in Canada to regulate assisted living. An Assisted Living Registrar was appointed in November 2003. The Community Care and Assisted Living Act, which replaced the Community Care Facility Act, came into force for assisted living residences on May 14, 2004. The Act extended government oversight to apply to assisted living residences as well as community care facilities. The requirement for operators to register assisted living residences came into effect on September 30, 2004.

2003 Consultation on the Assisted Living Regulatory Framework

In 2003, the Ministry of Health Services consulted about the regulatory framework for assisted living with a broad group of non-profit and for-profit housing and care associations, health authorities, government programs, consumer and community groups, and with the public. The following discussion papers were reviewed by stakeholders and made available for public review. Common themes that emerged from the consultation were considered in the development of systems for the Office of the Assisted Living Registrar.

The Framework for Assisted Living

Consultation document 1, Discussion Paper on a Framework for Assisted Living (PDF 83KB), explained the assisted living service delivery and regulatory models, the Registrar’s role, the role of operators, and registration and enforcement.

Protecting Residents' Health and Safety

Consultation document 2, Discussion Paper on Health and Safety Standards (PDF 126KB), outlined the proposed standards that assisted living residence operators would have to meet to protect residents' health and safety.

Resolving Complaints