Issue 38 September 2019

News and Events

Advocacy at work: 20,000 speculation tax exemptions related to construction

The advocacy efforts of CHBA BC helped the province recognize that taxes on land won’t solve our housing affordability crisis and that implementing these exemptions were beneficial to both home builders and home buyers.

Recently, the provincial government has made detailed information available, allowing us to see the magnitude of our advocacy efforts.

Read our news release here.

Meetings in Victoria

CHBA BC President, Brian Charlton, and Step Code Task Group Chair, Mark Bernhardt, attended a meeting with Minister Heyman to discuss the home builders’ role in achieving the provincial CleanBC strategy.

From left to right: CHBA BC CEO, Neil Moody, CHBA BC Government Relations Manager, Alycia Coulter, Minister George Heyman, CHBA BC President, Brian Charlton, and Step Code Task Group Chair, Mark Bernhardt.

Ongoing Issues

Development Approvals Process Review Report

Municipalities set requirements for new homes and developments to ensure they meet community planning goals, building codes, and consider public input. Over time, this process evolved to be more complex, unpredictable, time-consuming, and costly for all involved. A second look was long overdue.

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing convened a multi-stakeholder working group to review the process between December 2018 and June 2019. Potential solutions are under evaluation between now and 2021.

A report from this review has now been tabled and can be seen here.

Consultations

Energy Efficiency Standards Regulation Submission

CHBA BC submitted our concerns and the challenges expressed by the residential construction industry in regards to EESR within CleanBC. We believe strongly that affordability and evidence-based decisions must be a key objective when regulation changes are considered.

Read the submission here.

Clean BC Plastics Action Plan Submission

We’ve recently submitted our recommendations for the Clean BC Plastics Action Plan to help resolve existing barriers for greater recycling in the construction industry.

You can read our submission here.