B.C. NDP tariff emergency bill grants gov “almost unlimited powers”
Concerns are mounting over the B.C. NDP government’s proposed tariff response bill, which would grant the province sweeping emergency powers to override provincial laws and regulations without due pro
Concerns are mounting over the B.C. NDP government’s proposed tariff response bill, which would grant the province sweeping emergency powers to override provincial laws and regulations without due process in the legislature.
Opponents argue that the bill is a massive power grab by Premier David Eby that threatens democratic accountability.
Leader of the Conservative Party of British Columbia John Rustad warned that the bill would give the provincial government “almost unlimited powers with zero oversight.”
“If you thought government overreach during COVID-19 was bad — wait until you hear about what B.C.’s radical NDP is trying with Bill 7,” wrote Rustad.
He explained that the bill contains provisions that allow the NDP to introduce arbitrary road tolls and collect private information from citizens.
The B.C. Trucking Association told CBC that the bill was impractical and unnecessary and that it may lead to retaliation from U.S. President Donald Trump.
Thompson Rivers University law professor Mark Mancini also raised concerns about the bill claiming it contains a “Henry VIII clause” referring to the tyrannical 16th-century British monarch who initiated the English Reformation.
“Bill 7 contains the broadest Henry VIII clause I've seen in some time. These extraordinary clauses allow Cabinet to amend a primary law via regulation. This Bill is even broader — it permits Cabinet to amend almost *any* primary law. I see no justification (for) this,” said Mark Mancini.
The B.C. government’s news release downplayed the bill saying it allows the cabinet to remove or amend barriers impeding interprovincial trade, impose tolls on non-Canadian commercial vehicles, instruct public bodies to exclude U.S. suppliers, and more.
However, a closer look at the bill’s wording reveals British Columbians may be subject to new tolls as well.
The provincial government said guardrails are in place, such as the inability to override First Nations consultation. The act has a sunset clause that will be automatically repealed by May 2027.
Hidden within the contents of the bill are also powers allowing the government to modify existing laws, overriding previous regulatory requirements to facilitate rapid responses to foreign trade actions. Under the proposed legislation, the cabinet would have the authority to amend or repeal provincial regulations without legislative debate.
Under Bill 7, Premier Eby can also enact regulations retroactively to Jan. 20, 2025, with authority to do so until June 30, 2025, meaning they could be applied as if they had been in effect since that date. The bill also takes precedence over any existing provincial laws, superseding regulatory protections.
Eby defended the incoming legislation at a Thursday press conference, saying that while it will result in measures bypassing legislative debate, the act itself still needs to pass through the legislature.
He said that such powers were required to deal with the ongoing tariff dispute with the U.S.
“Living with the Americans is like the senior Trudeau said; it’s like living beside an elephant, sleeping beside an elephant. It’s a big, powerful country, and every twitch affects us. And right now, the beast is coming at us at full speed,” said Eby.
A columnist who has covered B.C. governments for 41 years, Vaughn Palmer, said he hasn’t seen legislation this far-reaching since the federal War Measures Act.
Section 19 of the bill grants the provincial government the ability to make regulations based on any “challenges, or anticipated challenges, to British Columbia arising from the actions of a foreign jurisdiction.”
It also allows any regulations that support the economy of British Columbia or Canada.
Eby said that given his slim majority, the Legislative Assembly could decide the bill was an overreach, collapse the government, and immediately put the province into an election.
Rustad said his party would never support this legislation, because it “includes powers for road pricing, secretive collection of personal information, and almost unlimited ‘emergency’ powers.”
“If you want an election — drop the writ,” he said. “We won’t back down from this fight.”
The recently elected President of the US is pursuing his mandate in a forthright manner. It is a USA first mandate that has been widely publicized before and after the US election. We should not be surprised that he is using all the legitimate tools at his disposal to fulfill his mandate, including tariff policy and tax and investment strategies to lure business into the US.
The correct response is not to bleat about the US President doing his job. It is to get federal and provincial leaders to do their job. That can include negotiating better trade arrangements between Canada and the US, using our own tariff regime and international adjudication tribunals as required. More broadly we need to create an investment climate in Canada that is even more appealing to international investors than that on offer in the US. That means lowering taxes and drastically reducing the regulatory burden that has been sold through climate alarmism.
The federal Liberal/NDP Alliance and the NDP in BC are itching to fight elections on the hatred they and their media servants have whipped up against the US Administration for simply following its well publicized America First policies. It's an electoral strategy, folks. As soon as the election in Canada and the likely BC provincial election are over, officials from Canada and the US will put aside their theatrics and sit down and calmly work out new Canada/US trade arrangements. Until the elections are over though, we're going to be in for a lot of unseemly fear mongering, posturing and spittle. Shameful.
Looks like what we desperately need in Canada are laws that make it impossible for an elected government to legislate that they can do whatever they want and temporarily dispose of all the checks and balances that are required for accountability.
We all saw this during Covid and now with the "big, bad orange man" in the US playing hard ball with our governments, it's being done again.
Too easy to go from democracy to totalitarianism in a heartbeat.