Open Letter to the Government of British Columbia - Urging Restraint on Bill M216

Re: An Open Letter to the Government of British Columbia - Urging Restraint on Bill M216, the Professional Reliance Act

We are a Metro Vancouver region-based group of urbanists, urban planners, architects, and UBC/SFU academics, most with decades of experience, some with a background in development, who have joined together to broaden the search for enduring housing solutions.

We are writing to you to address our concerns about Bill M216, the Professional Reliance Act, that was recently introduced to the provincial legislature on October 21, 2025 as a member's bill.

A Quiet Revolution in Local Governance

There is a quiet revolution underway in British Columbia—one that few citizens, and perhaps even few councillors, have yet noticed. With the introduction of Bill M216, the Professional Reliance Act, the provincial government is edging closer to a full-scale assumption of municipal planning powers, effectively rewriting the relationship between local democracy and development.

A Technical Bill with Profound Consequences

At first glance, the bill appears technical: a procedural adjustment to allow developers to hire certified professionals (“PGAs”) to review and approve projects. That may sound harmless, even efficient. Yet beneath its bureaucratic language lies a profound shift. Developers would be able to bypass municipal oversight, relying instead on provincially certified agents whose work local governments could not “peer review” (outside consultants) without provincial permission.

Part of a Broader Pattern of Provincial Overreach

This is not an isolated reform. As others have pointed out, Bill M216 builds upon a continuum of provincial interventions—Bills 44, 47, (2023) 13, and 15 (2024)—that expand provincial control over zoning and approvals, especially around transit corridors. Those laws already 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.

Institutionalizing Conflict of Interest

Even more troubling, this model institutionalizes conflict of interest. When certified professionals hired by developers are empowered to approve the very projects from which they earn their income, the integrity of the system collapses. The bill also eliminates the hard-won practice of incentivizing better urbanism through locally negotiated, taxpayer-informed zoning processes.

For decades, municipalities have used discretionary tools—community amenity contributions, design panels, and density bonusing—to secure parks, childcare facilities, and affordable housing. Bill M216 dismantles that tradition, substituting the private judgment of consultants for the collective will of local citizens.

Eroding Municipal Self-Determination

The bill’s provisions go so far as to allow the province to designate an alternative “local government” to handle approvals if an elected council proves too slow or resistant. This power effectively nullifies the principle of municipal self-determination.

Centralization Without Affordability

The pattern is unmistakable. Step by step, the tools of local planning—zoning, permitting, and density decisions—are being centralized under provincial authority, justified by the widely felt urgency of the housing crisis. Yet removing democratic checks does not guarantee affordability. On the contrary, it risks handing over unprecedented control to private actors and provincially appointed officials—for no discernible benefit and at great expense to the public good.

Lack of Transparency and Accountability

Equally concerning is how this legislation has been introduced. Instead of coming through the Minister of Housing or Municipal Affairs, Bill M216 arrived as a Private Member’s Bill, tabled by an NDP MLA from Nanaimo. Substantive policy legislation is rarely advanced this way. The approach raises serious questions about transparency and accountability, especially given the sweeping implications for local democracy.

A Call for Democratic Restraint

We therefore urge restraint. Pause the progression of Bill M216. We note significant concerns also raised by the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM). Engage municipalities, planning and design associations, and the public in a transparent review of how best to balance efficiency with democratic accountability.

In this tumultuous world, British Columbia should strengthen its reputation as a creative democracy, not weaken it.

Signed: (In alphabetical order on two pages below)

Larry Beasley, CM, FCIP, Former Co-chief Planner of Vancouver, author Vancouverism

Lance Berelowitz, AA Dipl RPP MCIP, Principal Urban Forum Associates.

Patrick Condon, Professor Emeritus UBC School of Landscape and Architecture, author Broken City. Former head city planner.

Frank Ducote, Principal, Frank Ducote Urban Design, former Senior Urban Designer, City of Vancouver

Dr. Alexandra Flynn, Associate Professor, Peter A. Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia and Co-Director, Housing Research Collaborative (which includes the Housing Assessment Resource Tools project and the Balanced Supply of Housing Node)

Michael Geller, FCIP, RPP, MLAI, Ret Architect AIBC, urban planner, real estate consultant, developer and Adjunct Professor, SFU.

Barbara Gordon, Retired Architect AIBC and retired Director of Capital Planning, UBC

Penny Gurstein, PhD, MCIP (ret.) Professor Emeritus and Former Director, School of Community and Regional Planning, Co-Director, Housing Research Collaborative, UBC

Scot Hein, Retired Architect MAIBC/Former COV and UBC Senior Urban Designer and Development Planner/Adjunct Professor Urban Design UBC/SFU Faculty Continuing Studies/Founding Board Member Urbanarium/Board Member Small Housing BC/Housing Advocate

Norman Hotson, Retired Architect AIBC, FRAIC, RCA, Hon PIBC

Sandy James, former City of Vancouver City Planner, Managing Director Walk Metro Vancouver

David Ley, OC, FRSC, PhD, Urban Geographer, Professor Emeritus UBC, Order of Canada

Mike Mangan, Barrister & Solicitor (Ret.), who worked with the real estate industry for many years, authored The Condominium Manual and taught at UBC for 25 years.

Signers Continued:

Darlene Marzari, first a Social Planner at City of Vancouver, fought the Freeway to save Chinatown/Gastown/waterfront, City of Vancouver Councillor, BC Minister of Municipal Affairs, and established the Liveable Region Strategic Plan (1990)

Bill McCreery, former registered architect AIBC & AAA, helped create North & South False Creek & thousands of units of developer, public & social housing in BC, Alberta & UK, developed several Vancouver residential projects

Sean McEwen, Architect, AIBC, FRAIC. Affordable housing advocate

Graham McGarva, FRAIC, Retired Architect AIBC, M.A.

Elizabeth Murphy, private sector project manager, and senior property development officer, formerly with the City of Vancouver’s housing and properties department, BC Housing and BC Buildings Corp

Brian Palmquist, Award winning architect and author, AIBC MRAIC BEP CP LEED AP

Tom Phipps, Retired Senior Planner City of Vancouver (33 years)

Mary Pynenburg MRAIC (Retired) MCIP (Retired) Former Director of Planning City of New Westminster, Former Director of Planning and Development City of Kelowna, former Director of Design / Development CP Hotels

Robert Renger, BES, MCP; Consultant City Planner; Former Senior Development Planner and City’s lead for UniverCity at SFU, City of Burnaby

Mary Beth Rondeau, Ret Architect AIBC Former Urban Designer City of Vancouver

Ralph Segal, MAIBC (ret.) Former Chief Urban Designer / Development Planner, City of Vancouver

Ray Spaxman, ARIBA (Rtd), MRTPI (Rtd,) FCIP, Hon AIBC, LL.D, Director of Planning, City of Vancouver 1973-1989

Sara Stevens, PhD, Associate Professor UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, Chair of Urban Design, Co-founder of Architects Against Housing Alienation

Erick Villagomez, Lecturer UBC School of Community and Regional Planning, Principal, Mētis Design | Build, Editor-in-Chief, Spacing Vancouver

Arny Wise, B. Comm., M.Sc., RPP, MCIP (ret), urban planner/ retired developer (President, Synergy Develop., VP Development, Goldfan Holdings), Board of Directors Toronto Economic Development Corporation (1990-1999)

David Wong, Architect, AIBC; formerly with Engineering & Planning Dept. City of Vancouver

Elvin Wyly, Urban Housing Researcher, Professor of Geography, UBC