On October 9, 2025, Bill 27, the Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act (No. 2), 2025, was tabled in the British Columbia Legislature. For local governments, the most notable feature of Bill 27 is its proposal to amend the Community Charter to expand the rules governing closed meetings. Specifically, Bill 27 would create new discretionary and mandatory exceptions that allow councils to meet in private when discussing confidential or culturally sensitive First Nations matters, and broaden the scope of mandatory closed meetings when engaging in intergovernmental negotiations. These changes respond to long-standing requests from local governments, the Union of British Columbia Municipalities, and First Nations for clearer authority to hold respectful, confidential discussions. If passed, the amendments will provide local government councils with greater flexibility to protect sensitive information, while maintaining the requirement that bylaws must continue to be adopted in open meetings.

Why Open and Closed Meetings Matter

It is generally the rule that all council meetings must be open to the public, pursuant to section 89 of the Community Charter. This open meeting standard promotes transparent governance and public participation. Courts have found that where a municipal government fails to properly hold open meetings, it undermines the democratic legitimacy of council decisions made during such meetings, and courts will correspondingly show less deference to council decisions, as in TimberWest Forest Corp. v Campbell River (City), 2009 BCSC 1804.

Section 90 of the Community Charter includes a list of exceptions to the general rule that all council meetings must be open to the public. The exceptions include those that are discretionary, such as meetings where the subject matter includes the acquisition or disposition of land or improvements, and those that are mandatory, such as when the subject matter involves the consideration of information relating to negotiations between a municipality and the provincial or federal government.

What Bill 27 Would Change

The Union of British Columbia Municipalities, local governments and First Nations have been advocating for allowing additional exceptions in Section 90 where the subject matter includes negotiations with First Nations or discussion of culturally sensitive First Nations matters. Bill 27 would amend section 90 of the Community Charter to create two additional exceptions, one discretionary and one mandatory, in relation to First Nations subject matters, as follows:

• In section 90(1), which lists discretionary exceptions, Bill 27 would add to the list of subject matters any “information that is prohibited, or information that if it were presented in a document would be prohibited, from disclosure under section 18.1 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act,” which relates to disclosure harmful to the interests of an Indigenous people, including in relation to cultural heritage, traditional knowledge, and traditional cultural expressions; and

• In section 90(2), which lists mandatory exceptions, Bill 27 would repeal and replace the existing 90(2)(b) with a broader exception regarding consideration of information received and held in confidence relating to intergovernmental negotiations. Currently, 90(2)(b) applies to negotiations between a municipality and either the provincial or federal government. Under the proposed amendments, the broader scope would be in relation to negotiations:

1. between the municipality and a provincial government or the federal government, or both, or between a provincial government or the federal government, or both, and a third party,

2. between the municipality and another local government or between another local government and a third party, or

3. between the municipality and a First Nation or a prescribed Indigenous entity, or between a First Nation or a prescribed Indigenous entity and a third party.

The Government of British Columbia has framed the amendments as balancing the need for public transparency with the requests from both local governments and First Nations to support confidential discussions and government-to-government negotiations, while following through on the Province’s obligations under the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.

What This Means for Local Governments

The proposed amendments to the Community Charter under Bill 27 would allow local governments to hold closed meetings when discussing confidential and culturally sensitive First Nations matters, as well as require local governments to hold closed meetings during negotiations with First Nations or with other local governments. However, these amendments will not change the requirement that local government must adopt bylaws in open meetings.

For local governments, the practical effect of these proposed amendments would be the need to review and, where necessary, update meeting procedures and staff training to ensure compliance with the new exceptions. Council and staff would need to be alert to when discussions with First Nations or other governments trigger mandatory closed meetings. Councils would also need to adopt clear guidelines and record their reasons for moving into a closed meeting, to protect sensitive information while maintaining public trust in transparent decision‑making

If Bill 27 is passed by the legislature, then the amendments to the Community Charter would come into effect upon receiving royal assent. SMS Law will be following the passage of Bill 27 as it progresses.

Kyle Falk-Varcoe

Kyle Falk-Varcoe is a solicitor with SMS Law. He was called to the BC Bar in 2022 and began his legal career at the Vancouver office of a leading national business law firm before joining SMS Law and devoting his practice to serving local governments across the province.