Premier David Eby said measures are needed to ensure B.C. is never again “at the whim of one person in the White House.”
In a move the official Opposition says is a “slippery slope,” the NDP has introduced emergency legislation giving it broad powers to reduce interprovincial trade barriers, put tolls on bridges and ferries, and unilaterally change any legislation relating to B.C.’s economy.
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Premier David Eby told reporters in Victoria that the government needs to be able to respond quickly to the tariffs and annexation threats levelled by U.S. President Donald Trump and echoed former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau in saying that living next to the U.S. is like “sleeping next to an elephant.”
He said that right now “the beast is coming at us full-speed.”
“One thing is clear for British Columbia, we can never leave ourselves again to be in the position of being at the whim of one person in the White House,” said Eby. “We have to move faster, and we have to be incredibly nimble to respond to the escalating situation.”
To that end, he said the bill lays out provisions that would allow the government to move forward with taxes on trucks moving goods from Washington state to Alaska should the trade war continue to escalate. These taxes will not be put in place immediately after the legislation passes but instead held in reserve as a possible response.
It also breaks down all barriers to goods produced in another province with no need for reciprocation by other jurisdictions. This in some ways goes farther than Nova Scotia’s mutual recognition approach that allows goods to flow freely with other provinces that have similar legislation. The bill does leave some interprovincial barriers in place, such as ICBC’s monopoly on auto insurance.
Conservative Leader John Rustad said that while he is supportive of the government’s desire to move quickly in responding to threats from the U.S., the breadth of the powers the legislation gives the NDP is troubling.
“There’s no question that we need to be able to take steps. However, what I’m very concerned about is this bill actually enables the government to implement tolls and road fees anywhere in the province, including ferries, something that, quite frankly, I find very, very dangerous,” said Rustad.
“The other thing is, this gives the government sweeping powers to basically do anything they want with no oversight. We need to make sure that any decisions that they make have the oversight of this legislature.”
Rustad’s concerns aren’t shared by the business community, with both the Business Council of B.C. and the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade coming out strongly in support of the legislation.
Laura Jones, CEO of the business council, said she likes that the bill doesn’t require other provinces to pass similar legislation in order for B.C. to remove barriers on the flow of goods and would like to see that feature of the legislation become permanent instead of expiring in May 2027 as it’s currently set to.
As for the emergency powers, Jones said Canada currently finds itself in an “unusual situation” and that how the government uses them needs to be watched carefully. She said she doesn’t want them extended past their current expiry date unless absolutely necessary.
The conditions under which the province can use these emergency powers are extremely broad with all laws and regulations deemed to be related to B.C.’s economy, interprovincial co-operation or challenges from the U.S. included under the bill.
Exceptions include rules governing natural resource permits and any laws regarding engagement with First Nations on the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.
Although the government would be required to report on all changes to legislation and regulations made under the bill twice a year, in May and October, it will not be required to have those changes ratified by the legislature. This means the government will not have to have the legislature agree to the changes before implementing them.
Former B.C. attorney general Mike de Jong said he has few qualms with the intent behind the NDP’s legislation but argued there is little need to bypass the democratic process in order to respond to Canada’s new adversary in the White House.
“We are being attacked by a president who is overriding basic tenants of the U.S. Constitution through his misuse of executive orders. We need to combat that, but I don’t think the way to combat that is by eroding the authority of the legislative branch,” he told Postmedia News.
“We end up going down a slippery slope if we use the erratic, nonsensical, hostile behaviour of others to justify an erosion of our legislative protections.”
De Jong pointed out that even Winston Churchill didn’t bypass the British Parliament during the Second World War.
Hamish Telford, a political scientist at the University of the Fraser Valley, disagreed with de Jong somewhat, saying that while the powers the NDP may have given themselves are broad, they’re needed in a moment where our one-time closest ally has essentially declared war on our economy and sovereignty.
He pointed out that there is a sunset clause of May 2027, meaning the legislation isn’t permanent, and that it simply gives the government more flexibility to respond, although he did acknowledge there should be more safeguards around when the government can use the legislation.
“The governments of Canada have to be able to respond, and they’re going to have to be much more nimble than they have been before in international relations. It’s the way this works, is that they hit us, we hit back. They hit us harder. We hit back just as hard. Tit for tat,” said Telford.