Wednesday, February 11
My Cart2:30 PM – 3:30 PM
Working With Building Officials and Building Permit Regulations
Location: Level 2: Room 224
- Architecture
- Construction & Trades
- Engineering
- Homebuilding & Renovation
- Economics, Legal, Regulatory & Risk Management
- Public Sector
Building Type: Commercial, Industrial, Institutional, Mixed-Use, Residential: Multi-Unit, Residential: Single-Unit
Building construction should be a collaborative process between proponents and regulators. Understanding the roles and responsibilities of building officials as well as the different regulatory tools utilized by building officials can support successful applications and inspections. This session will provide the opportunity to learn about the different regulatory tools that building officials work with. Attendees will also learn about the differences of interpretation and what the available dispute resolution options are.
Speakers
Trevor Welsh President, Building Officials' Association of BC
Trevor has held various supervisory and leadership roles within local government, notably as the Director of the Building Permits Division for the City of Abbotsford as well as the Director of the Building Division for the City of Surrey. He is currently the Director of Building Permits for the City of Coquitlam. He has also worked as a part-time instructor at the British Columbia Institute of Technology, instructing on building codes.
Trevor has served on the Building Officials’ Association of BC’s Executive Committee since 2019. During this time, he has been involved in multiple committees and working groups, including the Governance Committee and Certification Working Group, and he has chaired the Finance Committee. In the Executive Committee, Trevor has held the positions of Secretary, Treasurer, Vice President and currently serves as President of the Association.
- Regular
- $85
Session Sponsor
Presenting Partner
Thursday, February 12
My Cart10:30 AM – 11:30 AM
VRCA Builders’ Bench Live: The Municipal Election and the Future of Construction
ConEd Credits: BC Housing 1 CPD (Construction management and supervision)
Location: Level 2: Room 217
- Construction & Trades
- Homebuilding & Renovation
- Economics, Legal, Regulatory & Risk Management
- Housing Planning, Development & Supply
- Public Sector
Building Type: Civil / Infrastructure, Commercial, Industrial, Institutional, Mixed-Use, Residential: Multi-Unit, Residential: Single-Unit
Partners: VRCA
Municipal governments make the decisions that shape our industry every day – whether it’s zoning bylaws, housing targets, permitting timelines, or procurement practices. With federal and provincial elections behind us and municipal elections on the horizon in 2026, the stakes for construction have never been higher.
In this live edition of The Builders’ Bench, industry leaders and political voices will tackle the pressing questions: What issues matter most? What needs to be fixed? And what should we be telling candidates before they ask for our vote?
Expect candid insights, clear priorities, and a roadmap for how municipal leadership will impact the way we build, bid, and do business. This is your chance to hear directly from industry decision-makers on what’s at stake for your company, your projects, and your future.
Speakers
Craig Larkins Director, Advocacy & Engagement, Vancouver Regional Construction Association
Craig Larkins has spent the last 15+ years blending media, politics, and public engagement to spark conversations that matter and drive real change. As the Director of Advocacy for the Vancouver Regional Construction Association (VRCA), he leads outreach efforts, builds relationships across all levels of government, and shapes the conversations that impact the people building B.C.’s future. Craig’s career began in journalism, reporting for CBC and Global News in newsrooms across Canada. Those storytelling roots still shape how he works today — clear, compelling, and always people-first. After nearly 15 years in broadcasting, Craig transitioned into politics, serving as Director of Communications for four MLAs in Manitoba, before bringing his expertise in messaging, advocacy, and stakeholder engagement to the construction sector. If you care about policy, people, and building better communities, Craig’s someone you’ll want to talk to.
Regina Marklund Project Director, Turner Construction, Canada
Regina has been with Turner Construction for over 18 years and holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from Hofstra University. Her expertise spans estimating, project management, business development, and construction management. She played a key role in establishing Turner’s Vancouver office in 2016 and has been actively involved with VRCA ever since. Regina is committed to fostering industry growth and professional development.
Scott Adkins Operations Manager, PCL Construction
Scott is a professional engineer with over 27 years of experience across Western Canada and the Northwest US. His career spans the heavy civil, commercial, and institutional sectors. Since joining PCL in 2005, he has been actively involved in corporate initiatives focusing on employee growth, pension investment, recruitment, and PCL’s Canadian DEI council.
Jeannine Martin President, Vancouver Regional Construction Association
As the President of the Vancouver Regional Construction Association (VRCA), Jeannine leads the organization’s mission to champion the Vancouver construction industry through advocacy, education, and facilitation of business-building connections. Her work with the VRCA serves to elevate and engage 900+ member companies through proactive and inclusive leadership. With an extensive background in construction and engineering, she brings industry understanding and expertise that elevates her ability to uplift issues important to construction and helps drive the success of the association, its members, and the broader industry. Jeannine’s 25 years of experience combines construction and business development leadership for both global and local companies, with service on boards including the British Columbia Construction Association Employee Benefit Trust (BCCA EBT), the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies British Columbia (ACEC-BC), and the British Columbia Construction Roundtable (BCCR).
Sajjid Lakhani Director, Government Relations and Strategy , Impact Public Affairs
Sajjid is a results-oriented public affairs professional with a track record of leadership and innovation. Along with advocating for his clients’ interests to the Government of Canada, Sajjid works extensively in British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan as Impact’s Western Canada lead. Sajjid has organized major advocacy campaigns across Canada and has experience working with senior decision-makers to advance key priorities. He has been liaising between the industries he represents and governments across the country to ensure that governments understand industry’s actions in response to trade tensions. Sajjid has a comprehensive background in politics, including working for a BC Member of Parliament, serving in leadership roles on election campaigns, and providing strategic direction to Electoral District Associations. He was also the recipient of the Public Affairs Association of Canada’s inaugural Emerging Leader Award, which honours a rising public affairs professional who has already made an impact through innovative contributions.
- Regular
- $85
Presenting Partner
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Strategic Facilities Planning for Emergency Health Services
ConEd Credits: AIBC 1 Non-Core; 1 IDCEC HSW-Building Code
Location: Level 2: Room 220
- Architecture
- Property Management & Building Operations
- Engineering
- Interior Design
- Project Planning, Procurement, Management & Delivery
- Design Concepts, Health & Wellness
- Public Sector
Building Type: Institutional
This session provides an in-depth look into the BCEHS Strategic Facilities Plan, a 20-year strategy designed to align British Columbia’s ambulance station facilities with growing and evolving service demands. We explore the methodologies and tools developed to evaluate and prioritize BCEHS’s facility needs, including assessing each station’s capacity, quality, and risk factors to address both present and anticipated challenges. The speakers will demonstrate a high level service capacity projection along with data-driven design facilities guidelines and a scoring framework that analyzes essential factors such as projected demand, demographic shifts, geographic risks, and facility conditions. These metrics allow us to strategically address underserved regions, and align facilities with services supporting a changing population.
Speakers
Allison Savigny Principal Facilities Planner, Inform Planning
Allison’s approach to facilities planning is strategic and creative. With both diligent investigation and graphic skills, she combines analysis with communications to produce comprehensive decision support tools that drive the capital planning process. She has years of experience in facility planning, accommodations, and master planning for commercial, municipal, healthcare, civic, academic, not-for-profit and industrial projects. She prides herself on Inform’s ability to achieve exceptional functional programs through a collaborative process. Allison has a Master of Arts in Urban Planning from the University of British Columbia. Allison’s background in urban planning supports her knowledge in community and civic planning. Allison’s predesign strengths lie in community, municipal, civic, community health and workplace functional programming. Her versatile facilitation tools and personable approach to stakeholder engagement make her a favourite among stakeholders and clients.
Aishwarya Thabitha Facilities Planner, Inform Planning
Aishwarya received her Master’s in Community Planning from Vancouver Island University, where she honed her expertise in planning and design. With a diverse background in architecture and facilities planning, she brings strengths in strategic thinking and effective problem-solving to every project. Her approach to planning is both strategic and creative, combining thorough research with strong graphic skills. She excels in client communication and project management, ensuring each project is executed with attention to detail. At Inform Planning, Aishwarya has applied her skills to key healthcare, civic, and commercial projects.
John LaRusic Lead Consultant, Compass Healthcare Management
John has over 12 years of experience in healthcare consulting, project management, and data analytics. His work in healthcare analytics has taken him across Canada, including British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Ontario. John is passionate about making analytics accessible to all healthcare operations stakeholders to support data-driven decision-making. In his previous role as Director of Development at AnalysisWorks Inc., John led development of the LightHouse software-as-a-service report offering that was adopted by all health authorities in BC, as well as the Edmonton Zone in Alberta. John holds a Bachelor of Computer Science from the University of New Brunswick, as well as a Master’s in Mathematics (Operations Research) from Simon Fraser University.
Michael Watibini Senior Development Manager, City of Vancouver
Michael Watibini is a seasoned Registered Professional Planner (RPP, MCIP) with a unique blend of architectural training and healthcare planning expertise. Originally from Nairobi, he holds a B.Arch degree and refined his craft through advanced studies in Canada, earning a Master’s in Planning from the University of Calgary. Since transitioning into healthcare-focused roles, Michael has delivered impactful planning leadership across western Canada. His early career included strategic capital planning at Alberta Health Services, where he began tackling complex health facility projects He subsequently joined Island Health as a Capital Planner before assuming his current role with the Provincial Health Services Authority, specializing in healthcare master planning across varied facilities including acute hospitals, clinics, long-term care, and COVID-19 response infrastructure.
- Regular
- $85