B.C. Infrastructure Minister Bowinn Ma says new legislation, if passed, will speed up approvals for infrastructure projects.

Tabled Thursday (May 1), the Infrastructure Projects Act is meant to enable the provincial government to expand work already underway "to reduce redundancy, not standards, but redundancy," Ma said in Victoria. 

"We'll be able to prioritize and accelerate approval for projects that will need to support for people in their communities. The environmental assessment office will be developing an expedited environmental assessment process so that designated provincially significant projects we go through a faster review while continuing to uphold high environmental standards."

Ma said B.C.'s population has "exploded" by 188,000 people between June 2023 and June 2024.

"For everyone 10,000 people that are added to the population, we need an additional 50,018 hospital beds and 4,000 additional homes. That's for every 10,000 people, and we saw 188,000 people join us in a single 12-month period."

If passed, the legislation will speed up approvals for priority provincial infrastructure projects, such as schools and hospitals. It would also allow for an expedited environmental assessment process, so designated projects can be reviewed "more quickly without compromising B.C.'s high environmental standards."

The legislation would also allow the Infrastructure Ministry to work with school districts, health authorities and post-secondary institutions to deliver some projects on their behalf. 

Ma said the projects could be delivered by Crown corporations, local governments, First Nations and the private sector. 

"They would need to create significant economic, social or environmental benefits for people in B.C. and are, for example, projects that contribute to the priorities of British Columbians. Projects like public infrastructure, those that contribute to food security ... and replacing US imports."

More to come.