Vaughn Palmer: NDP didn’t need to wield a legislative hammer, unless Eby is planning an early election
VICTORIA — Premier David Eby is trying to play down his far-reaching legislation that would allow the cabinet to override provincial laws, regulations, authorities and even the legislature itself.
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“These are not sweeping powers,” Eby said Thursday, shortly after the NDP government introduced the Economic Stabilization (Tariff Response) Act, or Bill 7, in the legislature.
Not sweeping? Not even the provision that allows cabinet to issue orders to “support the economy” in any way it sees fit or in “anticipation” of actions from the U.S that have not yet taken place?
“This is an emergency provision very similar to emergency powers for natural disasters,” Eby told Jas Johal on CKNW radio. “It allows us to move very quickly to prevent harm to the B.C. economy.”
As for cabinet taking action against “anticipated challenges,” Eby says the courts could check any abuse of that power.
“The bill does require that there has to be anticipated harm to the B.C. economy,”
the premier told reporters.
“That’s a standard that would have to be defended in front of a judge on judicial review, that there was a reasonable expectation that there was going to be harm caused by a foreign government to the B.C. economy.”
Eby entered politics with a reputation as a civil libertarian and author of How to Sue the Police. In response to criticisms of his own heavy-handed legislation, he says, in effect, if anyone doesn’t like the power grab, “sue me.”
Also on Thursday, Eby showed a faulty grasp of the contents of his own legislation.
He insisted that any cabinet orders passed under Bill 7 would be subject to approval by the legislature.
He said it three times in the space of the news conference following introduction of the bill.
Once: “The bill actually requires these orders, these regulations to come to the legislature, to be ratified by the legislature.”
Twice: “They are extraordinary authorities that would only and should only be used in extraordinary circumstances, that even if they are used, they have to come to the legislature to be ratified.”
Thrice: “A measure that is brought in, it’s got to come to the legislature in order to be ratified.”
I asked the premier’s office to point me to the specific clause in Bill 7 that backs up Eby’s claim that cabinet orders, issued under the bill, must be ratified by the legislature.
They were unable to do so … because there is no such ratification clause in the legislation.
On the contrary, the bill simply says that cabinet orders signed under Bill 7 must be presented to the legislature after the fact and they will remain in force until May 28, 2027.
The premier is usually well briefed on his government’s legislation. His ignorance of such a critical aspect of Bill 7 suggests that the legislation was cobbled together in haste for political grandstanding.
The legislation also includes specific measures dealing with interprovincial trade barriers, procurement, transportation tolls and other responses to the Trump tariffs.
But in further downplaying the significance of Bill 7 at a news conference Friday, Eby said it is merely enabling legislation for measures to come later. The New Democrats won’t necessarily bring in all the tolls, restrictions and other measures contemplated in the text.
Yet Bill 7 also contains a half dozen override provisions. Each says that in the event an order passed under the legislation conflicts with existing laws, regulations or guidelines, the new orders will prevail.
Eby says the overrides are needed to overcome interprovincial trade barriers.
“This bill responds to those arcane, bizarre barriers that prevent free commerce across the country,” said the premier. “It’s important that this bill prevails over all of the — and there is a lot — regulations and rules and authorities in B.C. that could block a product from Nova Scotia from coming here.”
Nova Scotia’s Conservative government introduced a briefer bill focused on interprovincial trade last month, the Free Trade and Mobility Within Canada Act.
A few days later, B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad introduced similar legislation for B.C.
“The purpose of this Act is to remove all barriers to trade in goods, services and investment between the provinces and territories of Canada,” it said. “If a provision of this Act is inconsistent or in conflict with a provision of another enactment, the provision of this Act prevails.”
The Conservative willingness to support override legislation suggests that they could also have supported a common approach to reduce interprovincial trade barriers.
The house is scheduled to sit until the end of May. The NDP might have put together much of what is needed in co-operation with the Opposition. Once the house adjourns, additional regulations could have been scrutinized and approved by an all-party committee.
Then there would have been no need to wield the legislative sledge hammer.
But that is not the NDP’s way. As Eby suggested Thursday, he’s already thinking of Bill 7 as the first step toward an early election call.
Confused by the trade war? Our interactive tariff tracker, updated daily, will keep tabs on which tariffs are in effect, and which ones are coming up next.