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The B.C. government has proposed a piece of legislation called the Professional Reliance Act (M216) that has raised the hackles of municipalities and housing professionals in the province.

If the legislation passes, it will represent a major change in how development submissions are handled.

As things stand now, municipalities can double-check the work of engineers, geoscientists and architects that is part of submissions to local governments by developers of new housing.

This peer-review is designed to ensure submissions comply with city bylaws on zoning, design and servicing.

Any glitches or discrepancies in the applications can usually be resolved at this stage in a standard review.

But this practice could change.

Bill M216 proposes that local governments will have to accept any submission certified by Professional Governance Act (PGA) professionals hired by a developer, unless the submission is incomplete, or if there is a complaint about it.

Furthermore, if there’s a dispute between the respective professionals, the matter must be referred to the PGA superintendent for resolution.

Opinion on both the efficacy and the intention of the bill is divided.

In a preliminary note in the bill, sponsoring legislator George Anderson wrote, “This bill provides for the streamlining of development projects and reduction of administrative costs in the approval of development projects by local governments.”

The Urban Development Institute (UDI) and the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade (GVBOT) support the legislation.

, Bridgitte Anderson, GVBOT president and CEO, and Anne McMullin, UDI president and CEO, say the proposed legislation will improve the efficiency and predictability of the development approvals process.

“Expediting the development approvals process by reducing redundancies in the review process, while upholding the professional standards of qualified professionals (QPs), is another regulatory tool which would support the more timely delivery of new homes for British Columbians who need more housing options.”

Other interested parties see the issue very differently, however.

The Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM), which represents 180 local governments, says before it was introduced “and has significant concerns with the proposed approach that would erode local approval authorities.”

UBCM says the legislation is part of “a trend towards sweeping, centralized legislation that impacts local governments, developed without meaningful local government input…

“As has been clearly demonstrated in recent processes, fast-tracked approaches that skip over consultation are likely to lead to unintended consequences.”

Likewise, a group of 29 Metro Vancouver urbanists, urban planners, architects and university academicsthat urged restraint on Bill M216.

They say there are already laws that permit the province to dictate densities, override official community plans and issue development permits directly if a city fails to comply.

“Bill M216 goes even further, embedding these powers in a professional governance framework that replaces local accountability with a provincially managed technocracy.”

They say the legislation also institutionalizes conflict of interest.

“When certified professionals hired by developers can approve their own projects, the integrity of the system falls in doubt.”

In a letter to Premier David Eby, Kenna Jonkman, president of the Planning Institute of British Columbia (PIBC) wrote, “PIBC strongly recommends that Bill M216 be carefully reviewed and discussed in open forums with relevant stakeholders, including PIBC, to ensure it is appropriately scoped and analyzed for potential risks, implications and effects…The risk of not undertaking a full due diligence review is severe harm to the public interest.”

Patrick Condon, professor emeritus in the University of BC’s School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, is also skeptical.

“Bill M216 follows earlier initiatives…all of which attempt to ‘fix’ housing affordability by weakening or removing local authority over development,” says Condon.

“Each is built on the false premise that municipal governments and local residents are the primary cause of high home prices. There is no evidence to support this assumption.”

Developer and retired architect Michael Geller says the bill covers not only building permits, but also rezonings and development permits, which are more discretionary.

Geller says the legislation goes too far.

“In theory, it would definitely speed up approvals if there’s no municipal review,” he says. “However, many of us fear there will be municipal reviews and they will challenge the judgment of the certified professionals, which could lead to lengthy disputes.”

He says the province could impose time limits on municipalities to approve rezonings and permits.

Bill M216 passed second reading in the BC legislature in November 2025.

Public consultation on the legislation continues until Jan. 6, 2026.