City Exploring Hiring Multiple Building Permit Contractors (Copy)
By Robert Thomas
It’s been a problem cooking at high heat on the back burner of the stove for months but now Council has taken steps to stop it from boiling over any more than it has.
Background
The issue is the major problems at the Planning Department (building inspection services) which has seen staff leaving, allegations of deleted computer files, building permits and inspections that allegedly do not conform to national, provincial and local building standards and a third party contractor brought in to review a up to a purported 500 building files and clean up the mess.
The review was first made public by this publication.
See Related - Report Confirms On-Going Probe Into Planning Department
https://www.mjindependent.com/new-blog/2026/6/21/city-admits-on-going-probe-into-planning-department
As part of the 36 month contracted Request For Proposal the White City based third party firm Professional Building Inspectors Inc (PBI) was paid based upon the building project’s value.
See Related - City Paying Tens Of Thousands To Planning Department Consultant
https://www.mjindependent.com/new-blog/2026/8/9/nzylnd7b6rs1sq5t25oukeowazvcdp
At the same time there has been a drop in commercial and residential new construction and renovations. Coincidentally Moose Jaw has had only six new housing starts in 2026 despite what had been a tight housing market and during the time the problems in the Planning Department came to light.
The problems had the City hold an open forum for developers and property owners in early September to explain how the permit process operated.
See Related - Building Permits Process Explained To About 40
https://www.mjindependent.com/home/2026/9/2/beoyt8wmdobm79h3umzz8idnwx77co-pfn4j
PETER WOTHERSPOON CHIEF CODES ADMINISTRATOR - MINISTRY OF GOVERNMENT RELATIONS SPOKE TO A CITY ORGANIZED FORUM IN SEPTEMBER - MJ INDEPENDENT FILE PHOTO
A Freedom of Information Request submitted by MJ Independent in mid-April 2026 about the internal problems at the Planning Department came back denied by the City.
See Related - City Cites Act To Refuse Review Records Release
https://www.mjindependent.com/new-blog/2026/6/5/qx4qd6wysm0581lvne6oj4kcph9bkz
MJ Independent has appealed the City’s declining to provide any records to the Office of the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner who are in the process of conducting a review. The reviews take 12 - 18 months.
At their October 27, 2026 Executive Committee Council discussed the problems at the Planning Department in-camera meaning the public was not allowed to attend.
Following that discussion Council moved out of camera and passed a motion to have Administration as part of a Request For Proposal prepare a report looking into having multiple third party building permit providers and report back on the framework of a multi-provider approach and a recommended option.
Council Discussion
At this past Tuesday’s Council meeting Councillor Chris Warren - who was part of the in-camera discussion and said he had voted in favour of the October 27, 2026 Executive Committee motion asked questions about the details from Administration.
Editor’s Note - For those interested in watching the discussion it commences at about 39:30 on the City’s tape.
Warren said building permits and inspections were important in the economic life and development of the city and requested an update.
“I believe it would be beneficial for Council and the public to receive a brief update of the recommendation approved by the Executive Committee and the next steps moving forward,” Councillor Warren gave as his reason for discussing the motion.
Councillor Warren asked what additional work Administration had been asked to do as a result of the Executive Committee motion.
“Administration was going to move forward with the Request For Proposal for building inspection services and this motion provided additional clarification to include in that a consideration of a possibility of multiple providers,” T J Karwandy city director of corporate services replied.
The report would come back to Council on the framework based on the motion with recommended options.
Councillor Warren asked for a timeline when Administration would be reporting back to Council with its findings and recommendations.
“We anticipate the RFP, which has been revised to mirror the motion to be made, to be released by the end of this week. Which would mean once it’s had the ability to be on the market to late December a report (could be) back to Council on the terms of the findings on the options that are there,” Karwandy replied.
Councillor Warren asked with the release of the RFP were there plans to alert the building inspection community about it. Warren hoped there would be a good selection of bids to give the City the opportunity to award the best deal offered.
Karwandy said it was typical process to alert potential bidders to ensure proponents are aware of it and the City receives good responses.
The motion to accept the report was unanimous.