RBQ glossary: letter S

Safety Code (Code de sécurité)

An RBQ regulation that sets standards for the safety, maintenance, use and operation of buildings and installations (s. 175 of the Building Act). Several obligations fall on the owner, for example the periodic verification of the façades of certain buildings. Its chapters include plumbing, electricity, gas, elevators and buildings. Not to be confused with the Safety Code for the construction industry (S-2.1, r. 4), made under the Act respecting occupational health and safety.

See also: Construction Code, chapter I (Building), Safety Code for the construction industry (Code de sécurité pour les travaux de construction), Building Act (Loi sur le bâtiment), Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ)

Project and site management examSource: LégisQuébec, B-1.1, art. 175

Safety Code for the construction industry (Code de sécurité pour les travaux de construction)

A regulation under the LSST (S-2.1, r. 4) that sets safety rules on construction sites. For example, it provides for the notice of opening of a site and makes the principal contractor responsible for general measures such as traffic control, site housekeeping, public safety and fire protection (ss. 2.4.1 and 2.4.4). It is provided at the safety management exam. Not to be confused with the Safety Code under the Building Act (B-1.1, r. 3), which covers the use and maintenance of buildings and their installations.

See also: Notice of opening of a construction site (avis d’ouverture de chantier), Principal contractor (maître d’œuvre), Act respecting occupational health and safety (LSST)

Safety management examSource: LégisQuébec, S-2.1, r. 4, art. 2.4.4

Schedule (échéancier)

The calendar that sets the start, duration and finish of each project activity, along with key dates such as deliveries and completion. It is built from the sequence of the work and the available resources, often as a Gantt chart. During construction, actual progress is compared with the schedule to spot delays and adjust the plan.

See also: Critical path (chemin critique), Gantt chart (diagramme de Gantt)

Project and site management examSource: RBQ, Project and site management competency profile, element 18 (French)

Sector collective agreement (convention collective sectorielle)

A written agreement on working conditions made for one construction sector between the representative union associations and that sector’s employer association. There is one per sector, and each applies to the whole sector concerned (s. 47 of the R-20 Act). Some clauses, including the grievance procedure and the basic benefit plan, are common to all four agreements, and the AECQ bargains them for employers.

See also: Construction sectors (secteurs de la construction), Representative association (association représentative), Association of Building Contractors of Québec (AECQ)

Administration examSource: LégisQuébec, R-20, art. 47

Shop drawings (dessins d’atelier)

Detailed drawings prepared by the manufacturer, supplier or subcontractor to show how an item will be made or assembled: dimensions, materials, finishes, hardware, fabrication details. They supplement the plans and specifications without replacing them. They go to the project’s professionals for approval before fabrication, which confirms that the manufacturer understood the order.

See also: Plans and specifications (plans et devis), Subcontractor (sous-traitant)

Project and site management examSource: RBQ, Project and site management competency profile, element 9 (French)

Site prevention program

Under the LSST, the program must be drawn up when at least 10 construction workers are expected on site at the same time (s. 198), and sent to the CNESST before work starts from 20 workers (s. 200). The 25-worker threshold is the old rule. Regulation S-2.1, r. 10 was repealed on 1 October 2025.

Safety management examSource: LégisQuébec, S-2.1

Sole proprietorship (entreprise individuelle)

A business operated by a single natural person, with no legal personality separate from its owner. The owner answers for the business’s debts with all of their personal property. It must be registered with the Registraire des entreprises if it operates under a name that does not include the owner’s surname and given name (s. 21 of the Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises). For an RBQ licence, the guarantor is the owner themself.

See also: General partnership (société en nom collectif), Business corporation (société par actions), Guarantor (répondant), Equity (capitaux propres, avoir)

Administration examThe RBQ guarantorSource: LégisQuébec, P-44.1, art. 21

Source deductions (retenues à la source)

Amounts the employer takes from gross pay and remits on the employee’s behalf: Québec income tax and QPP (RRQ) and QPIP (RQAP) contributions, remitted to Revenu Québec, and federal income tax and employment insurance premiums, remitted to the Canada Revenue Agency. The employer adds its own contributions and remits everything on schedule. Net pay is what is left after these deductions, and the rates change every year.

See also: Health Services Fund contribution (cotisation au FSS), CNESST assessment (cotisation), Monthly report to the CCQ (rapport mensuel)

Administration examSource: LégisQuébec, I-3, art. 1015

Specialized contractor (entrepreneur spécialisé)

Holder of a licence with annexe II and III subclasses only. They sit the three management exams, one exam on the carrying out of construction work per annexe II subclass and none for annexe III. Their licence bond is $20,000.

Specialized contractor licenceSource: LégisQuébec, B-1.1, r. 9

Specifications (devis)

The written document that goes with the plans and sets the project’s requirements: quality of materials and products, methods of execution, tests and contract conditions. In the phrase plans et devis, devis means these written requirements, not the contractor’s price, which goes in the tender. Specifications are often organized along the National Master Specification, in sections that can be matched to the different subcontractors.

See also: Plans and specifications (plans et devis), National Master Specification (Devis directeur national, DDN), Subcontractor (sous-traitant)

Project and site management examSource: RBQ, Project and site management competency profile, element 8 (French)

Stipulated price contract (contrat à forfait)

A contract whose overall price is fixed in advance for all the work described. Under the Civil Code, neither the client nor the contractor can later claim an adjustment because the work cost less or more than expected, and the price stays the same even if the conditions of performance change, unless the parties agree otherwise (art. 2109). CCDC 2 is the Canadian standard form for this kind of contract.

See also: Unit price contract (contrat à prix unitaires), Cost plus contract (contrat à prix coûtant majoré), Change order (ordre de changement), Contract of enterprise (contrat d’entreprise)

Project and site management examSource: LégisQuébec, C.C.Q., art. 2109

Subclass (sous-catégorie)

A type of work a licence authorizes, for example 1.2 (small buildings) or 1.3 (buildings of all kinds). Subclasses are split across three annexes, which set the exams on the carrying out of construction work you must pass.

How to get an RBQ licenceSource: RBQ, list of subclasses (PDF, French)

Subcontractor (sous-traitant)

A business to which a contractor entrusts part of the work it has undertaken, with no direct contract with the client. Under the Civil Code, the contractor may obtain the help of a third person but keeps supervision of and responsibility for the work (art. 2101). The French Civil Code term is sous-entrepreneur, with the same meaning. Under the Building Act, a contractor may not use a subcontractor that does not hold the required licence (s. 46).

See also: Progress billing (décompte progressif), Legal construction hypothec (hypothèque légale de la construction), Notice of contract (dénonciation de contrat), Warranty against poor workmanship (garantie contre les malfaçons)

Project and site management examSource: LégisQuébec, C.C.Q., art. 2101

Suitable employment (emploi convenable)

Appropriate employment that lets a worker who has suffered an employment injury use his or her remaining ability and vocational qualifications, offers a reasonable chance of being hired, and has working conditions that pose no danger given the injury (LATMP, s. 2). Vocational rehabilitation first aims at a return to the worker’s own or an equivalent employment, and at suitable employment only when that is not possible (s. 166).

See also: Rehabilitation (réadaptation), Right to return to work (droit de retour au travail), Temporary assignment of work (assignation temporaire)

Safety management examSource: LégisQuébec, A-3.001, art. 2

Suspension and cancellation of a licence (suspension et annulation de licence)

Measures the RBQ may take on the grounds in s. 70 of the Building Act, for example serious or repeated offences under that Act, the R-20 Act or the Act respecting occupational health and safety, an issue condition no longer met, or a false statement. Before deciding, it sends a prior notice and allows at least 10 days to present observations (s. 75). This differs from a licence that ceases to have effect, for example after a bankruptcy or unpaid maintenance (s. 71).

See also: Contractor’s licence (licence RBQ), Application for review (demande de révision), Licence maintenance (maintien de licence), Restricted licence (licence restreinte)

How to get an RBQ licenceSource: LégisQuébec, B-1.1, art. 70

Sustainable development

The Sustainable Development Act (D-8.1.1) sets out 16 principles. In 2024-2025, every exam the RBQ administered had at least one sustainable-development question, according to its annual report. The topic has its own module in the safety management and project management profiles.

Source: LégisQuébec, D-8.1.1

Definitions written by RBQexam from the statutes and the RBQ’s pages, without reproducing their text. If in doubt, the official source prevails.