by Tom Hackney and Bill Andrews

14 October 2025

In September 2025, the BCSEA expressed opposition to the BC government using the recently-passed but not-yet-in-force Infrastructure Projects Act to relieve any projects from generally applicable environmental assessment review. BCSEA said that if BC’s review processes are too slow, then the time-lines should be shortened for all projects equally. BCSEA emphasized that BC’s project assessment processes should be effective and timely for all projects.

The Infrastructure Projects Act was passed by the Legislature in May 2025 but has not been brought into force. The Government says the Act will “create more good-paying jobs by delivering critical infrastructure project people need – faster,” and that the Act will “speed up approvals for priority provincial infrastructure projects, such as schools and hospitals.”

In its comments to the Government, BCSEA questioned why the established project review processes should be circumvented for certain projects but not other projects. BCSEA said that all projects should be subject to the same standards and criteria.