Syilx Territory, Kelowna, B.C. – The Okanagan Basin Water Board (OBWB) is joining local governments and the Union of BC Municipalities in sounding the alarm over BILL M 216 – 2025: the Professional Reliance Act. This private member’s bill threatens to dismantle critical local government safeguards for British Columbia’s watersheds and public drinking water supplies.
The Bill’s stated aim to “streamline development” would force municipalities to accept development submissions certified by professionals, even when local staff identify concerns or potential risk to the environment.
The OBWB feels BILL M 216 – 2025 poses a serious threat to the health of our watersheds and drinking water. With Second Reading scheduled for Nov. 17, 2025, the OBWB is publicly urging MLAs across B.C. to stop this legislation immediately.
“This is not just an Okanagan problem. We urge all MLAs to vote against BILL M 216 – 2025 at Second Reading. It is critical that the Province consider unintended impacts to watershed security before making any changes to the Professional Reliance model,” says OBWB Chair Blair Ireland.
In its current form, the bill would:
- Eliminate critical safeguards for watersheds: The Bill mandates local governments to accept professional submissions, eliminating the ability of municipal engineers and planners to require independent peer review – a critical safeguard for complex or high-risk proposals.
- Force local governments to bear the risk: While attempting to place liability to individual professionals, the public will inevitably hold local governments responsible for failures. If contamination, slope failure, or watershed damage occurs, the municipality or water utility will bear the brunt of emergency response, boil water advisories, source water cleanup, and infrastructure repair.
- Undermine local democracy: This bill would shift dispute resolution from the local level to a slow, centralized complaint-based provincial system, severely eroding local governments’ ability to conduct due diligence and protect local interests.
“I have grave concerns.” That is the stark warning from Dr. Brian Guy, a Professional Geoscientist and seasoned water resource specialist, regarding the threat to local government accountability and watershed health.
“As a licensed professional for 33 years, I know that a thorough review process is essential to risk reduction,” Dr. Guy continues. “Forcing local governments to accept reports without proper scrutiny will increase the likelihood that faulty work will be approved, resulting in heightened risks to public health, public safety, and the environment – the consequences of which will be borne by local communities.”
It is essential that provincial and municipal governments understand the Bill, its potential consequences, and what is at stake for watershed and public health before the B.C. Legislature reconvenes on Nov. 17, 2025.
“Realistically, watershed remediation and recovery efforts for drinking water contamination would fall squarely on local governments, not the individual professional,” says OBWB Executive Director Melissa Tesche. “The fallout from forced acceptance of a flawed report could be enormous: costly, prolonged, and politically explosive. No complaint-based provincial system can protect our watersheds or shield local governments from the financial, operational, or reputational consequences of environmental harm.”
If changes to professional reliance are desired, we urge the Province to set the Bill aside, start fresh, and initiate a structured consultation process with First Nations, local governments, professional regulatory bodies, water providers, and other technical experts. Any reforms to professional reliance must strengthen — not weaken — watershed protection and environmental due diligence.
Following this news release, the OBWB will also be sending a letter addressing our concerns to Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, the Honourable Randene Neill and copying the communication to all BC MLAs.
About the OBWB
The OBWB is a local government agency established in 1970 to address the region’s most pressing water issues. It represents a collaborative partnership between the three Okanagan regional districts, the Okanagan Nation Alliance, the Water Supply Association of BC, and the Okanagan Water Stewardship Council.
The OBWB’s mandate is to protect and enhance water resources in the Okanagan Basin — a transboundary (Canada and US) watershed nearly 200 km long and covering 8,000 km². This unique watershed includes the headwaters of the Columbia River and six major valley-bottom lakes: Wood, Kalamalka, Okanagan, Skaha, Vaseux, and Osoyoos. Surrounded by mountains and growing communities, the region faces complex and mounting water challenges, from climate change and population growth to ecosystem degradation and water scarcity.
