Content from BC Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs FOI, deemed a refusal by the OIPC, reveals that in May 2021, the BC government invited UDI lobbyists for confidential consultations about public hearings (reducing them) and delegating some local government decision-making from elected officials to staff.

Content from BC Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs FOI, deemed a refusal by the OIPC, reveals that in May 2021, the BC government invited UDI lobbyists for confidential consultations about public hearings (reducing them) and delegating some local government decision-making from elected officials to staff.

Most Public Hearings in Urban Areas across much of the Province have been removed as a result of legislation passed since then.

By Sasha Izard
April 3, 2026

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After over a year, an FOI request that I made to the BC Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs regarding the Development Approvals Process Review and its relation to the Urban Development Institute (UDI) a registered lobbying organization for corporate interests involved in development and real estate, has been deemed a refusal by the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioners (OIPC). Since then, I have been released a meagre 138 pages of a supposed Phase 1 from the Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs.

Meanwhile the BC NDP government is seeking to deal a major blow to the so-called freedom of information system in the form of “Bill 9”.

See: B.C. NDP no longer cares about access to information – Victoria Times Colonist

BC Government Accused of a Stealth Attack on Freedom of Information | The Tyee

Despite only receiving 138 pages after a year in my FOI (HSG-2025-50420), the information, despite the usual heavy handed censorship in the form of redactions, still contains a view into the relationship between the BC NDP-led government and the development lobby.

According to a document that I received from FOI:

“In May 2021 representatives from UDI Vancouver (Jeff Fisher, VP UDI) and Okanagan (Gary Pooni, President Pooni Group and Luke Turri, Executive VP, Mission Group) were invited, as members of the Development Approvals Review Technical Committee (DARTC), to participate in upcoming confidential consultations on public hearings and enabling local elected officials to delegate decisions on minor development variance permits to staff. Both these amendments if implemented, will support objectives of streamlining approvals.”

Note Luke Turri was listed as the UDI Okanagan’s Chair at the time. Gary Pooni was listed as a Director of the UDI Pacific Region at the time.

The text continued:

“To date, no announcements have been made on provincial priorities for DAPR, with the exception of $15 million in funding to the UBCM-administered Local Government Development Approvals Program (LGDAP) which supports projects that streamline local government development approval processes and timely movement of developments to market. However, challenges faced by local governments and developers during the COVID-19 pandemic have further highlighted the need to find efficient and effective ways of making land use decisions and for continual innovation.

As the province moves into the next phases of COVID-19 response, DAPR initiatives will support British Columbia’s economic recovery by boosting housing development and construction. As these initiatives are developed and rolled out, MUNI’s continued engagement and collaboration with stakeholders such as UDI will be critical to their success. (See Appendix A below, for a confidential summary of planned initiatives)”

See also: Corporate welfare: How the Federal Government of Canada provided one lobby for development and real estate (the Urban Development Institute), hundreds of thousands of dollars in emergency response aid, during the pandemic. – CRD Watch Homepage

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In November 2021, due to BC Bill 26 (2021) local governments could choose to waive public hearings, if they considered that development applications were consistent with Official Community Plans (OCPs) and delegations of some decision-making from elected officials to staff was allowed.

In a 2nd document from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs dated November 9, 2021 it was written:

“In summer 2021, representatives from UDI Vancouver and Okanagan participated in DAPR related consultations led by MUNI staff on proposed legislation to enable local governments to reduce the number of public hearings and delegate minor development variance permits to staff.

These changes were subsequently approved as part of Bill 26 – Municipal Affairs and Statutes Amendment Act (No. 2), 2021.

On October 26, 2021, Minister Osborne gave a speech to UDI’s members in the Capital Region on the province’s various efforts to address housing needs, including the DAPR-related changes in Bill Audience reaction to the legislation was very positive. Staff in the Planning and Land Use Management Branch continue to be available to discuss this legislation, or DAPR more generally, with UDI staff.
As policy work on DAPR advances, UDI will be an important stakeholder in consultations and validator for potential changes.”

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2 years later in November of 2023, Housing Bills 44 and 47 were rushed through legislative approval, wiping out most public hearings in urban areas across British Columbia.

During that month the UDI facing increasing scrutiny of its operations, also pulled down its branch websites, and took to hiding its members directory that included 100s of corporate members of the UDI including hundreds of private companies and numerous branches of government.

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Relevant documents from the FOI HSG-2025-50420:

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Resources:

CircuLAWr-March-2022-Bill-26-Significant-Implications-for-Local-Governments.pdf

Bill 26 – 2021: Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act (No. 2), 2021

Urban Development Institute – Okanagan Chapter – Board of Directors (Archived version May 2021)

Board of Directors of the UDI Pacific Region (Archived 2021)

Also worth looking into from the FOI: “In March 2020, Anne McMullin, President and CEO, UDI met with the Premier’s Chief of Staff to discuss DAPR and the rental zoning authority provided to local governments in 2018. In February 2021, she met with Minister Osborne for an introductory meeting and discussed DAPR, rentalzoning, and the Integrated Transportation and Development Strategy (ITDS).”