New legislation will deliver key infrastructure faster, strengthen economy

Press Release

May 1, 2025

VICTORIA – Major infrastructure projects will be built faster in B.C. as the Province aims to speed up permitting and approvals through new legislation.

“At a time of uncertainty caused by Donald Trump’s tariffs, it’s more important than ever that we create more good-paying jobs by delivering the critical infrastructure projects people need – faster,” said Premier David Eby. “We are building a record number of new schools, hospitals and major transportation projects across B.C., but too many others face unnecessary and costly delays. This legislation is designed to speed up permitting and approvals to get shovels in the ground more quickly on priority projects.”

On Thursday, May 1, 2025, government tabled the infrastructure projects act to deliver key infrastructure projects that deliver the schools, hospitals and other core services people rely on quicker, as well as provincially significant projects delivered by the private sector that are needed to drive economic growth. During the past eight years, the Province has embarked on the largest, most ambitious capital plan in B.C. history to build the schools, hospitals, student housing and other infrastructure that growing communities need.

In the past few years, B.C. has welcomed an extraordinary number of people, underscoring the need to reduce delays for urgently needed projects. This legislation is part of work underway across government to deliver projects faster, protect the public services people rely on and strengthen B.C.’s economy through uncertain times.

“We created the Ministry of Infrastructure to streamline delivery of provincial capital projects and ensure faster delivery of cost-effective, high-quality generational investments for people in B.C.,” said Bowinn Ma, Minister of Infrastructure. “This legislation is the next step forward. As we work to deliver projects faster, this gives us the tools to accelerate key projects and help strengthen our province, while maintaining our commitments to advancing reconciliation and protecting the environment.”

If passed, the infrastructure projects act will support the work of the ministry by:

• speeding up approvals for priority provincial infrastructure projects, such as schools and hospitals. The act can also help speed up approvals for other projects designated as provincially significant, including those delivered by other partners;
• prioritizing and accelerating provincial permitting for provincial and other designated projects, including developing a qualified professionals reliance framework;
• allowing an expedited environmental assessment process so designated projects can be reviewed more quickly without compromising B.C.’s high environmental standards;
• establishing a framework for alternative permit authorizations, through an agreement-seeking approach with local governments, to get shovels in the ground faster for provincial and other designated projects;
• putting the authority of the new ministry into law so it can carry out its roles and responsibilities, such as policy development, project planning and prioritization, land acquisition, and procurement for vertical provincial projects;
• enabling the ministry to work with school districts, health authorities and post-secondary institutions to deliver some projects on their behalf. This will allow government to group multiple projects into a single procurement or allow government to purchase project components for multiple projects at a single time; and
• working collaboratively with schools, health authorities and post-secondary institutions will ensure projects are delivered efficiently and cost-effectively.

In addition to provincial infrastructure projects, such as schools and hospitals, the legislation could streamline approvals for a limited number of other provincially significant projects that are delivered by other partners, such as Crown corporations, local governments, First Nations, and private proponents.

To be designated as provincially significant, a project would need to create significant economic, social or environmental benefits for people in B.C. and significantly contribute to provincial priorities such as food security, critical mineral supply, replacement of U.S. imports and disaster recovery. Criteria for the designation of projects of provincial significance will be released in the coming weeks.

All designated projects under the legislation will be required to uphold government’s commitment to the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.

Learn More:

To view the technical briefing presentation about the infrastructure projects act, visit:
https://news.gov.bc.ca/files/InfrastructureLegislationDeck.pdf

For more information about health capital projects in B.C., visit:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/accessing-health-care/capital-projects

For more information about K-12 School Capital Projects in B.C., visit:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/k-12/administration/capital

For more information about B.C. legislation, visit:

Legislation

Five backgrounders follow.

Contact:
Ministry of Infrastructure
Media Relations
778 587-3237

BACKGROUNDER 1

What people are saying about the infrastructure projects act

Candy Ashdown, board chair, Langley School District –

“Langley has experienced rapid growth in recent years, and we are working hard to build the schools that families need. Legislation that offers new tools to accelerate the construction of classrooms and schools is a positive step for our community. We look forward to working closely with government on continuing to ensure students have the high-quality learning environments they need to thrive.”

Everett Baker, mayor, City of Grand Forks –

“After the City of Grand Forks experienced catastrophic flooding in 2018, our main focus was on taking care of our community. In the years following, we completed over 40 different permitting processes to build back stronger. I hope this legislation could be used to help more communities rebuild what they’ve lost in a faster, more streamlined way, so municipalities can stay focused on supporting people and not lengthy or overlapping approval processes.”

Vivian Eliopoulos, president and chief executive officer, Vancouver Coastal Health –

“This new legislation is an important step forward in helping hospitals and health-care sites get built more efficiently and effectively. It will provide the tools to improve services, modernize infrastructure and better support the health and wellness of the communities we serve.”

Neil Fassina, president, Okanagan College –

“Post-secondary institutions across B.C. and throughout Canada are facing increased cost pressures as we work to meet the needs of our students, employees and communities. This legislation will support colleges, like Okanagan College, to move more quickly to build required facilities for students to get the training and education they require to be job ready.”

Colleen Giroux-Schmidt, vice-president, Innergex –

“This new legislation shows us that advancing critical infrastructure and upholding strong environmental standards are not mutually exclusive. It provides a clear path to get vital projects built and deliver the clean energy, modern grid systems and resilient communities the B.C. needs to anchor our prosperity without compromising our commitment to environmental stewardship.”

Patrick Johnstone, mayor, City of New Westminster –

“The infrastructure projects act is a good step toward accelerating the infrastructure our communities need to support growth. It will allow for greater collaboration between the Province and municipalities so we can work together delivering the schools, hospitals and other critical infrastructure our residents demand. This legislation provides a framework for prioritizing the needs of people in our growing communities and streamlining to deliver projects more efficiently.”

Geoffrey W. Payne, president and vice-chancellor, University of Northern British Columbia –

“Colleges and universities in B.C need the facilities to equip students for the future and the changing needs of the workforce, but we’re facing growing financial pressures as we try to do that. This legislation will allow us to work closer with government on projects that our students need so we can deliver faster and help strengthen our communities.”

Contact:

Ministry of Infrastructure
Media Relations
778 587-3237

BACKGROUNDER 2

Legislation introduced to deliver key infrastructure quicker

The Province has introduced new legislation to help build critical infrastructure projects, such as hospitals and schools, and other projects of provincial significance delivered by other partners, faster.

If passed, the legislation will come into force in phases through royal assent and regulations.

Codify the ministry of infrastructure’s responsibilities:

The legislation will provide greater clarity on the authority and intent of the Ministry of Infrastructure to carry out its roles and responsibilities.

The ministry is responsible for delivering provincial capital projects through the consolidation, integration and co-ordination of policy development, planning, procurement, delivery and oversight expertise for major provincial public-sector capital projects, such as schools, hospitals and post-secondary facilities.

It will enable the ministry to officially lead the work in communities on behalf of the Province, and lead co-ordination of planning across ministries to ensure government planning and resources are well co-ordinated.

Regulations and new tools to accelerate significant projects:

Once the act becomes law, the ministry will immediately begin prioritizing and working with partners to get shovels in the ground faster for projects that people and communities in B.C. need.

Through the development of regulations, in consultation with First Nations, local governments and partners, the legislation will provide the ministry with the powers it needs to:

• develop more efficient provincial permitting processes through qualified professional certifications to be used in place of selected lower-risk provincial permits to expedite designated projects.
• develop this qualified professional reliance model, we will work with interest holders and key partners, such as First Nations, regulatory bodies, interested private-sector proponents, natural resource permitting ministries, and the Office of the Superintendent of Professional Governance.
  • Consultations on the qualified professional reliance model will begin in spring 2025.
• establish a specific environmental assessment process through regulation for expedited assessment of designated priority projects.
  • This regulation will align with critical work the Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) has underway on a legislatively mandated review of the Environmental Assessment Act. The EAO will begin consultations on the regulation in the summer of 2025.

The legislation sets out a framework for an agreement-seeking process between project proponents (including the Province) and local governments to expedite local government approvals. It also provides tools to help local governments to expedite and streamline their own permitting and approval processes by enabling them to request provincially legislated requirements to be waived or modified for these projects. To support the implementation of both tools, the Ministry of Infrastructure will begin consulting with local governments this year.

None of these tools will change the quality or rigour of permitting or environmental and safety requirements or obligations related to consultation with First Nations.

Contact:

Ministry of Infrastructure
Media Relations
778 587-3237

BACKGROUNDER 3

Work underway to speed up approvals

Work is underway across government to speed up approval pathways, while maintaining environmental standards and advancing reconciliation with First Nations.

This includes:

• modernizing outdated zoning rules to speed up delivery of more homes;
• speeding up approvals for permitting across the natural resources sector;
• enabling the BC Energy Regulator to act as the primary permitting agency for renewable energy projects, such as wind and solar power, and transmission lines, such as the North Coast Transmission Line;
• speeding up approvals for mining and critical mineral projects; and
• building new schools quicker by streamlining business case and planning requirements for major school projects and acquiring urgently needed land for schools earlier and using prefabricated additions.

Across government, work is underway to speed up approvals, and permitting is starting to make a difference in:

• Housing:
  • Cleared 100% of the provincial housing backlog and reduced the average number of days to process a housing application from 257 days to 108.
  • Decisions made since March 2023 have potential to create approximately 332,000 new housing units.
• Connectivity: 89% of approved connectivity projects with provincial permitting requirements have permit applications submitted or completed.
• Across the Natural Resource Sector, more than 60 policy, processes, legislative and regulatory reform opportunities have been identified for action to speed up projects.
• Reduced general permitting time under the Heritage Conservation Act by 13% across all sectors and reduced the Heritage Conservation Area residential permitting timeline by 24% since January 2024.
• Major mining permit timelines have been reduced by 37%. From exploration drilling to major mine permits, projects are being reviewed in record time. For example, in exploration:
  • Mt. Wilson Silica Ventures had the notice of work for its Longworth Silica Project approved in 44 days.
  • J2 Metals’ copper and molybdenum project notice of work went from application to approval in 54 days.
• And for major mines:
  • Osisko’s Cariboo Gold obtained their major mine operating permit in 13 months (634 people during construction, $1.05 billion investment).
  • Artemis Gold’s Blackwater gold and silver mine obtained its major mine operating permit within 18 months. (457 jobs over the life of project, $13.2 billion to the provincial economy total).
• In partnership with the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, the Ministry of Transportation and Transit has created a specialized team to approve temporary water licences for transportation projects. This team works closely with the project delivery staff from the beginning of the project to proactively address any water or environmental concerns and assist in Indigenous consultation throughout the life of the project. As a result, water-license approval times for transportation projects have been reduced from up to 24 months to less than one month.
• Government will also streamline decisions and approvals for the nine wind power projects announced under the recent call for power, by removing them from the environmental assessment process and enabling the BC Energy Regulator to be the single-window regulator for renewable energy projects.

Contact:

Ministry of Infrastructure
Media Relations
778 587-3237

BACKGROUNDER 4

Provincially significant projects

The infrastructure projects act will apply to two categories of projects:

• Category 1 projects are those delivered by core government and will include all projects delivered by the ministry of infrastructure, such as hospitals, schools, long-term care homes and cancer centres.
• Category 2 projects are projects deemed to be provincially significant and designated by order-in-council.

Category 2 projects are those delivered by entities outside of core government ministries, such as Crown corporations, local governments, First Nations and private proponents.

Provincially significant projects would need to create significant economic, social or environmental benefits for people in British Columbia.

Formal criteria for the designation of projects as provincially significant is under development and will be released in the coming weeks.

Factors under consideration include whether a project significantly contributes to:

• public infrastructure
• critical minerals supply
• food or water security
• human health and safety
• energy security
• recovery of post-disaster recovery
• First Nations partnership or benefits
• trade diversification
• access to new markets
• supply-chain security
• replacing U.S. imports
• British Columbia’s climate goals
• housing

Contact:

Ministry of Infrastructure
Media Relations
778 587-3237

BACKGROUNDER 5

Government expands infrastructure

• Since 2017, the B.C. government has delivered record numbers of new infrastructure projects to strengthen core infrastructure, help deliver the services we rely on and grow the province’s economy:
  • started or completed work on 30 hospital projects, 11 long-term care centres, four cancer centres and one new medical school. ​
  • For more than 80,000 students, more than 225 new, expanded and seismically upgraded schools are built or underway, and more student seats are being added quicker with prefabricated school expansions.​
  • More than 10,700 new student housing beds are underway or completed at post-secondary campuses.
• Through ChildCareBC, invested in more than 40,000 new child care spaces, more than 23,000 of which are open and more than 16,000 are $10-a-day child care spaces.
• Funded by the Province’s unprecedented investment in housing and legislative initiatives, such as the speculation and vacancy tax, 92,000 homes delivered or underway.
  • ​Homes are also being delivered faster, through a navigator service for provincial housing permits​ and digital building-permit hub that helps streamline local permitting processes across participating communities.
• Completed more than 2,500 transportation projects, with more underway.​
• The Ministry of Infrastructure was created in late 2024 to streamline B.C.’s approach to delivering vertical provincial capital projects to ensure faster delivery of cost-effective, high-quality generational investments. ​
• The ministry is responsible for project planning, procurement and delivery of provincial capital projects, such as schools, hospitals, post-secondary facilities, and other public buildings.

Contact:

Ministry of Infrastructure
Media Relations
778 587-3237

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