Do excavation contractors need a licence in New Brunswick?

We found no provincial licence or certification for excavation contractors or for excavator and backhoe operators doing residential digging in New Brunswick. Several trades that follow the dig do need provincial licences, though.

What Does Require a Licence or Certificate

A few specific situations carry clear provincial requirements:

• Blasting: WorkSafeNB's General Regulation 91-191 requires that a blasting operation be conducted by a blaster who holds an appropriate certificate of qualification.
• Septic systems: Under the On-site Sewage Disposal System Regulation, anyone who installs, constructs, repairs or replaces a conventional system must hold a provincial sewage disposal system licence. An excavation contractor can dig the tank hole and the field when a licensed installer arranges it, but the installer, not the excavator, is responsible for the system.
• Wells: The province says new wells must be built by a licensed New Brunswick well contractor and licensed well driller, and the Water Well Regulation requires a well contractor's permit to dig a well on land you do not own.

The excavation contractor who digs your foundation, trench or driveway base is not covered by any of those licences. That does not mean anything goes, though. WorkSafeNB's General Regulation 91-191 binds employers on the site: trench walls 1.2 m (about 4 ft) or deeper that workers enter must be shored, sloped or benched, or cut in solid rock, and any shoring must be engineer-certified. Excavated material must be kept at least 1.2 m from the edge. The employer must also make sure underground utility lines are located before digging begins.

What to Check Before You Hire.

Because no provincial licence exists to look up, the practical checks fall to you. Ask any contractor you are considering for a WorkSafeNB clearance certificate, which confirms they are registered and in good standing with their workers' compensation account. WorkSafeNB notes that a customer can be held responsible for an unregistered business's premiums. For a sole proprietor with no workers, coverage is optional, so ask directly about their insurance before work starts.

Under the Construction Remedies Act, the owner must retain a holdback of 10% of the contract price for 60 days after the certificate of substantial performance is signed or the contract is completed, abandoned or terminated. Get legal advice if you are unsure how that applies to your contract.

Before any machine touches the ground, two separate locate requests are needed: one through Info-Excavation (Click Before You Dig) at least three working days ahead, and one through NB Power's own underground locate service at least five business days ahead. NB Power's locate covers only NB Power-owned lines and is valid for 60 days from the date on the locate form. Private lines, such as wiring run to a garage, shed or pool, are yours to find and mark. If your project is within 30 metres of a watercourse or wetland, a Watercourse and Wetland Alteration permit from the province is required before any digging or clearing begins.

Once you have more than one written quote, check that each one spells out how rock is priced if it is encountered, where the spoil goes and what trucking distance is assumed, when backfill happens relative to any required inspections, and what clean-up and site restoration are included. The form on this page passes your job to local excavation contractors in the New Brunswick Construction Network directory, who can reply with quotes.