Why We Are Here

The unilateral changes made in the June 1st, 2025 Terms and Conditions (T&Cs) introduced by Community Living British Columbia (CLBC) represent a fundamental shift in the contracting relationship between CLBC and service providers. Of particular concern is the expanded definition of "Services," which now includes, not only direct staffing, but also supervision, program activities, facilities, administration, and any other component funded by CLBC through a Cost Estimate. This change permits CLBC to audit administration, fixed costs, and vendor agreements, including foundations that have historically been beyond its purview.

By broadening the definition of ‘Services,’ CLBC has created a mechanism that could erode the modest surpluses agencies depend on to manage inflationary pressures, fund training and innovation, and maintain service quality. The operational, financial, and legal risks associated with these changes are significant and foster an adversarial contracting environment that deviates from the norms of other provincial ministries.

The Coalition asserts that the expanded definition of "Services" must be rolled back and that CLBC's audit scope should realign with provincial standards.

Goals

Returning the definition of "Services" to its pre-June 1st, 2025 form.

Clearly define and communicate what costs are included in 'administration.'

Provide an explicit definition of 'surplus' to set clear expectations for agencies.

Define unearned revenue, such as failing to deliver service levels.

Define 'operational efficiency' as the ability for providers to retain surpluses (up to 5%) from cost-saving measures and effective financial management. This ensures agencies can address rising costs and sustain service quality.

Ensure that providers are given adequate advance notice of any contract changes, a clear consultation process that allows them to ask questions, sufficient response time, and the opportunity to ensure compliance with any significant changes. These steps are essential to empower providers as active protectors of their rights and to prevent changes from being enforced before all questions are addressed.7

Request preservation of existing provider and vendor partnerships, even if they are now considered subcontractors under the new Services definition.

Background

Prior to the introduction of the June 1st, 2025 Terms and Conditions [T&Cs], Service providers were required to submit Service Level reports to inform CLBC of how many service hours were delivered at any given program. These hours were the primary mechanism by which Service Providers proved to CLBC that the Service was being delivered in accordance with the Contract. However, these Service Level Reports only addressed direct staffing hours.

The changes introduced in the new T&Cs significantly alter the structure and sustainability of the organization’s business models by expanding the definition of services to include administration, supervision, facilities, and essentially all elements of the costing tool. Whereas previously, services were limited to the direct service hours and program costs delivered to each specific person under a contract.

This change allows CLBC to access subcontractor information across all parts of the costing tool. It allows CLBC to recover efficiencies, not recognize surpluses. CLBC can now audit administration where there are no line items, redefining vendor relationships as sub-contractual. Additionally, CLBC is unwilling to provide service providers with explanations of how their changes will be applied.

A significant concern is the ability of CLBC to control individual agencies' delivery models, allowing them to effectively govern each organization as a pseudo-arm of the government, thereby stripping autonomy and the possibility of innovation completely.

The 2025 T&Cs represent a significant departure from the historical auditing framework. They expand CLBC's verification and audit rights to include any portion of ‘Services,’ as newly defined, obligating providers to comply with extensive audit requests, and pay for CLBC’s audit if any material differences are found.

What We Have Accomplished:

The Coalition of Social Service Providers is working with Peter Gall, K.C. to challenge the unilateral changes to the Terms and Conditions imposed by CLBC on June 1st, 2025, as these changes were introduced without proper consultation and agreement from individual service providers organizations.

Our legal counsel, Peter Gall, K.C., has emphasized that this situation hinges on contractual rights, and as such we have addressed these changes through the Dispute Resolution Clause outlined in our contracts.

To date, the following has changed due to our unified voices:

CLBC will not seek reimbursement for its audit and review costs under section 9.4 of the Terms and Conditions for audit periods prior to June 1st, 2025, and

CLBC will not seek repayment for supervision and administration services under section 6 of the Terms and Conditions for audit periods prior to June 1st, 2025, and

CLBC will not retroactively apply the new Terms and Conditions to audit periods prior to June 1st, 2025.

Next Steps

We continue to have items that need to be fairly addressed with CLBC. The following are the remaining action items we will continue to advocate for in our sector:

Returning the definition of "Services" to its pre-2025 form.

Setting reasonable limits on CLBC's audit powers.

Ensuring providers retain operational efficiencies under 5% to offset inflationary costs.

Preventing unilateral mid-contract changes.

Protecting vendor relationships.

As we continue in this endeavour and to clarify any potential misinformation, we invite others to join our collective voice on this overarching sector issue. There are several ways that organizations can contribute and be involved.

These ways include:

Being an observer at meetings and being informed of what is happening within our service sector and the implications.

Participating in the meetings to contribute to the conversation and group resolution, or actively advocating with the Coalition.

You can join anytime at any level of participation, whether it is as an observer or vocal advocate. We encourage you to witness our next meeting on TBD to become more informed about the Coalition and the significant impact this has on the Service Sector.

To join the Coalition, or to hear more, please send an email to Info@coalitionbc.com