The founder of a local commercial real estate company says bureaucratic inefficiency is hampering development in the province and capital city region.

Charlie Oliver says developers, owners and contractors aren’t voicing their concerns for fear of reprisal, but after 43 years in commercial real estate development he felt it was time to speak.

He participated in a recent panel discussion at the Business Owners and Managers Association’s Annual Real Estate Forum.

The business veteran criticized government for the number of provincial tenders issued and not awarded in the last few years.

The province recently reissued a Request for Qualifications for the replacement of HMP, saying it was re-evaluating the parameters of the project in light of ballooning construction costs.

That, says Oliver, amounts to a waste of time and money for businesses who submit extensive proposals, and ultimately severely limits the number of bidders on a given project.

He says the provincial tendering and bidding process is in need of change and the tender structure and practices appear at times to be nothing more than fishing expeditions. He accuses government of presenting tenders with incomplete details and sometimes no awareness of costs—and he categorizes the government reaction to tenders submitted as like “a deer in the headlights.”

Oliver also highlighted as an area of concern provincial lease overholding—a situation where the tenant continues to occupy leased premises and pay rent, even though the term of the lease has expired.

He also criticized the capital city for its “ever-changing” development rules and regulations and what he calls “obstructionist policies, practices and procedures.”