Pitt Meadows Urges Province to Revisit Bill M 216 Citing Public Safety and Environmental Risks
Pitt Meadows Urges Province to Revisit Bill M 216 Citing Public Safety and Environmental Risks
PITT MEADOWS, B.C. – On behalf of Pitt Meadows City Council, Mayor Nicole MacDonald has sent a formal letter to the Honourable Christine Boyle, Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs, outlining serious concerns with Bill M 216 – 2025 (Professional Reliance Act) and its potential impacts on public safety, environmental protection and local taxpayers.
Bill M 216 would require municipalities to accept development submissions certified by private professionals—and prevent local governments from requesting peer reviews. This requirement to accept submissions applies not only to work on private property, but also to City infrastructure. In turn, the City and local taxpayers may be required to resolve deficiencies that arise. Pitt Meadows City Council believes this approach reduces essential oversight, shifts risk to taxpayers and undermines the City’s ability to ensure safe, resilient and environmentally responsible development.
“We support faster, more efficient housing approval processes, but not at the expense of public safety or local government,” says Mayor Nicole MacDonald. “This Bill would remove critical checks and balances that help us resolve issues, protect the environment and safeguard our community.”
The City notes that local governments routinely identify problems in professionally prepared reports and plans, and that peer reviews—though used sparingly—are sometimes necessary for complex or high-risk projects. Under Bill M 216, these safeguards would be weakened or eliminated. The legislation may also create new liability challenges for municipalities—and by extension, costs for taxpayers—if certified plans contain errors.
“Local governments are closest to the ground,” added Mayor MacDonald. “We understand our terrain, our bylaws and our community’s needs. Losing that oversight puts residents at risk and places undue trust in a system the Province itself has acknowledged needs stronger oversight—not less.”
City Council is urging the Province to consult directly with municipalities and reconsider the Bill before it proceeds further.
More Information
- Read the full letter.
- Watch recording of the Public Council Meeting (Tuesday, December 2). Council discusses the letter and Bill M 216.
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For more information please contact:
Tia O’Grady
Manager of Communications and Civic Engagement
City of Pitt Meadows
