Critics are blasting a proposal from Premier Doug Ford’s government to let developers hire and pay their own building inspectors, bypassing municipal inspectors in a bid to speed construction.

Industry sources said the idea is to create a special training program to certify architects and professional engineers who would act as building inspectors, handling initial design approvals and building code inspections through various stages of construction for developers.

But opponents warn the arrangement would be prone to abuse because of the money changing hands in a business relationship.

“What’s lacking is independent oversight,” Will Johnston, the City of Toronto’s chief building official and a professional engineer, said Tuesday in an interview with the Star.

He has recommended the city’s planning and housing committee oppose the proposal, citing “the potential for perceived conflicts of interest.”

The Ontario Home Builders’ Association said the development industry applauds the concept, noting architects and engineers already adhere to a strict regime of professional standards and would have to pass a certification course to do the work, easing the load on busy municipal building inspection staff.

“This is a specialized designation that gets people into their homes sooner and safer,” said the association’s chief executive officer, Joe Vaccaro.

The idea remains a proposal at this point and no decisions have been made as consultations continue on updating the provincial building code, said the office of Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark.

“We consulted on various models, including those that are used in other jurisdictions. To be clear, we will in no way select a policy proposal that gives developers the ability to pick their own building inspectors at whim,” the statement added.

“Modernizing and transforming the delivery of our building code is going to take time, and our consultations are only the first step. Any decisions our government makes will always maintain our high standards for public safety.”

The Progressive Conservatives have been pushing to cut “red tape, increase the supply of housing to help keep soaring prices in check and make homes more affordable as part of the government’s “open for business” mantra.

At Queen’s Park, opposition parties were united in their concerns over the building inspection proposal.

“It’s like the fox guarding the hen house,” said Deputy NDP Leader Sara Singh, echoing a similar comment from interim Liberal leader John Fraser.

“I think most people would want a city inspector…where it isn’t just a profit motivation for that person to come in.”

Green Leader Mike Schreiner said “safety is not red tape” and maintained the proposal would “undermine” municipalities by taking away their power to approve designs and inspect building projects.

“I’m startled the Ford government would consider punching holes in the neutral, independent process for inspecting new buildings, especially after the scathing auditor general report on Tarion,” the province’s troubled new home warranty program now undergoing an overhaul, Schreiner said in a statement.

“I am worried that these proposed changes would create a conflict of interest that compromises safety and good quality work in service of speed.”

For the homebuilders’ association, Vaccaro said the proposed new system would allow municipal staff to quickly approve designs and issue building permits confident in the knowledge that professional work has already been done.

Engineers and architects are often brought in for inspections by municipal staff, particularly in large, complex building projects, he added.

“Most municipal inspectors, when they do go into those buildings, don’t have the expertise to determine if it was built as per the approved design. So they want the engineer or architect to confirm those things in reports anyways. That expertise is already being used as part of the inspection process,” Vaccaro said.

Under the proposed system, “the municipal inspector comes in at the end, does a final inspection, checks the reports and confirms the building is safe to occupy.”

That level of detail is not in the government’s proposal, said Johnston of the City of Toronto.

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“This isn’t a question of whether an architect or an engineer has the skill or ability to carry out this work and provide this service. What it’s a question of is it’s lacking that independent oversight of the design and construction,” he added.

“That oversight provides the public with trust and confidence that the buildings they live in, work in or visit meet all of the safety requirements in the building code.”

Toronto is reviewing its building permit and inspection system with an eye to “streamlining” it, said Johnston, citing statistics that staff reply to more than 90 per cent of building permit applications within 10 to 30 days and responds to more than 90 per cent of inspection requests within two days.