Whereas the incidence of injury at trampoline parks is increasing and there are no safety standards or operational requirements in the Province of BC; And whereas several jurisdictions in North America and Australia impose safety standards for the construction, maintenance and operation of trampoline parks: Therefore be it resolved that the Province implement safety standards for trampoline parks and that Technical Safety BC assume regulatory responsibility for the safe installation and operation of all trampoline parks in the province.
Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing The safety of British Columbians is a high priority for the Government. Recent tragic incidents have drawn attention to the need to review trampoline park safety and consider options for making facilities safer. Although Technical Safety BC has regulatory oversight for amusement rides under the Safety Standards Act, existing regulation does not include trampoline parks in the definition of amusement rides. Technical Safety BC is conducting an analysis of possible oversight mechanisms to identify regulatory options for trampoline parks. They anticipate providing recommendations to the Government near the middle of 2019. The need for Provincial oversight will be considered as part of this review. Once Technical Safety BC provides recommendations, Ministry staff will have a clearer sense of the appropriate safety oversight options for trampoline parks.
Technical Safety BC Currently, trampoline parks are not explicitly addressed as an amusement device under the Canadian Standards Association Z267 Safety Code for Amusement Rides and Devices, which is adopted in BC under the Elevating Devices Safety Regulation. As you are aware, Technical Safety BC oversees the design, installation, operation and maintenance of technical systems and equipment across a broad spectrum of technologies, including amusement rides. We conduct research, analysis and recommendations on opportunities to clarify and evolve the regulatory framework, and earlier this year, began preliminary discussions with the provincial government and external stakeholders about trampoline parks as part of a more holistic analysis of amusement ride oversight. We are continuing to study and analyze the issue of safety and trampoline parks, and anticipate we will be making a recommendation to the provincial government in six to eight months. Depending on our findings, Technical Safety BC will recommend the most appropriate oversight framework for trampoline parks and I commit to updating you once we have concluded our comprehensive analysis.