BC NDP’s emergency power bill criticized by some; Greens likely to support

The B.C. government is facing criticisms from some over its move to vastly expand its own powers to respond to U.S. tariffs.

On Thursday, Premier David Eby tabled Bill 7, which would give it sweeping power to respond to the trade war in real time, without waiting for approval from the Legislature.

Eby says they need to put in the changes with things escalating quickly south of the border.

“It gives us the tools to respond in real time to executive orders that target Canada, that target British Columbia. I wish I could say we could predict what the president is going to do next, but I don’t think anyone can predict that. I’m not even sure the president can predict what he’s going to do next. And so we need to have the tools in place to be able to respond quickly,” he told media Thursday.

The BC Conservatives say the move is anti-democratic in the extreme, with Leader John Rustad saying his party will “never” support the bill.

The government says these kind of broad powers need checks and balances and it’s keeping those in place. If the bill passes it will expire by 2027 at the latest, and it doesn’t allow government to override permitting processes or First Nations consultation.

But the BC Green Party tells 1130 NewsRadio that it doesn’t really share the Conservatives’ concerns.

Interim BC Green Leader Jeremy Valeriote says his party isn’t likely to oppose, but will be focused on making sure the right checks and balances are in place.

“That there’s transparency on how it’s being used, that there are certain guardrails so that it can’t can’t be abused,” Valeriote explained.

He says if, farther down the road, they do believe the BC NDP is abusing its power, the Green Party will use the cooperation agreement it has with the ruling party to make its concerns heard.

Co-host of the PolitiCoast Podcast, Ian Bushfield, says he’s not sure the government has proved that it needs this much power.

“People, I think, understand that the tariffs pose a major threat, but substantively, the powers they proposed giving themselves are rather unprecedented. It’s sort of Emergency-Act level,” said Bushfield.

He argues that, with a majority, the government already has all the power it should need to act quickly in an emergency.

“They could presumably recall the Legislature, make the argument, and get the opposition on side. That is the way the democracy is supposed to work.”