Bill M216, The Professional Reliance Act
A recently introduced private member’s bill, Bill M216, the Professional Reliance Act, proposes changes to the way local governments review development permits in British Columbia. The stated intent of the Bill is to streamline development projects and reduce administrative costs in the approval of these projects by local governments.
If enacted, Bill M216 would alter this process by requiring local governments to accept any submission certified by a registered professional instead of relying on their own technical review processes.
Dialogue
Engineers and Geoscientists BC and the five other regulators under the Professional Governance Act have had several meetings with George Anderson, the MLA who introduced the bill. Together, we’ve shared observations and perspectives about the bill with MLA Anderson and others in government.
On January 6, we jointly provided a submission to the Select Standing Committee on Private Bills and Private Members' Bills. The joint submission notes that while we recognize the bill’s intent to streamline approvals, we believe it does not fully address the technical and discretionary complexities of development permits across British Columbia. These processes require careful balancing of technical requirements, design standards, and regulatory oversight.
We recommend pausing the bill’s progress to allow for collaborative consultation with local governments, Indigenous peoples, the Office of the Superintendent of Professional Governance, and others.
We anticipate further dialogue should the bill continue to advance.
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