Bylaw enforcement complaints can be made by anyone within the electoral area where the bylaw violation occurred.
If you think a bylaw has been violated, consider discussing it with the person first and give them an opportunity to correct their behaviour. Sometimes people do not know the regulations or understand how their actions impact others.
If you have an accessibility issue, you can also contact Bylaw Enforcement to make a a verbal complaint.
More information
The Regional District process is driven by public complaints and we do not actively look for violations. This allows us to focus our resources on the highest priority issues for the community.
In some cases, the Regional District can begin an investigation without a public complaint if:
a member of staff discovers a violation during their duties and submits a bylaw complaint
RCMP or other provincial government organizations submit a complaint for investigation
You must include your name, address, and phone number or email address for your complaint to be investigated. All personal information submitted is confidential and is not released to anyone, including the subject of the complaint. However, if a trial results from the complaint investigation, the law may require or allow the information to be disclosed
In rare cases, anonymous complaints are investigated if there is a significant health or safety risk.
After we receive a complaint, the Bylaw Enforcement Officer will assess and investigate it if necessary. In some cases, the person who made the complaint will be contacted for more information to help in our investigation. Once the assessment or investigation is complete, the person who submitted the complaint will be contacted about the outcome.
If there is enough evidence of a bylaw violation, the Regional District may take action. Penalties range from warnings, to tickets or a full trial. The Regional District will consider all factors in each situation, and pick the most productive path forward.
If there is not enough evidence, the investigation may be closed without further action. The Regional District also considers whether a complaint has merit, and can refuse to investigate if there is any evidence of:
trivial complaints where the bylaw violation is very minor and not worth investigating
complaints made in bad faith or in an abuse of process, like if a complaint is made to primarily harass or annoy someone, not because the violation is having a negative impact
repetitive complaints about issues that have already been investigated, unless significant new evidence is discovered
