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SURREY. B.C. — B.C.’s recently tabled Infrastructure Projects Act is getting some pushback from the Independent Contractors and es Association (ICBA), which is expressing concern that while the legislation acknowledges the problem of permitting delays, it does not go nearly far enough.

“The irony is impossible to ignore: the NDP has had to create an entire new ministry and pass legislation just to cut the red tape they created in the first place,” said Chris Gardner, ICBA president and CEO, in a statement. “Yes, permitting delays and red tape are slowing down schools and hospitals, but they’re also slowing down homes, roads, energy, bridges, and every other type of construction. This should have been an across-the-board fix, not a narrowly focused government workaround.” 

According to the government, the new legislation will speed up major public and private projects, including mines and other natural resource enterprises. More specifically, it will designate projects that are significant to the province and oversee the planning, procurement and delivery of major capital projects.

Gardner noted while government agencies and one Quebec-based wind company offered support for the legislation, no one in the industry was quoted backing the plan.

“That’s telling. The people who actually build projects understand the bottlenecks and know what needs to be done to unlock the talent and skill in the construction sector so that we can build more, build faster, and build affordably,” he said, adding the effort to “bundle projects” is fraught with risk.

“Bundling may have the unintended consequence of excluding small and mid-sized contractors. And, prioritizing government projects inevitably pushes private sector projects to the back of the line.”

The ICBA states “special” rules for certain project is not a solution.  

“Simpler is better. The answer is to eliminate unnecessary delays for all projects, not just the ones favoured by government,” Gardner said. “Government procurement is broken – every major project in B.C. is behind schedule, often by years, and over budget, often by hundreds of millions of dollars. We need real, across-the-government reform that empowers B.C.’s builders, gets more projects to yes faster, and restores investor confidence in this province.”