The Greens have two MLAs and have a formal agreement to support the NDP government, which has a one-seat majority.
The B.C. Greens said Friday they will push for amendments to legislation introduced by David Eby’s NDP government this week to give the government sweeping emergency powers to respond to U.S. tariffs.
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Jeremy Valeriote, the Green MLA for West Vancouver-Sea to Sky, said he doesn’t know exactly what those amendments will be, but the Greens will be ready to bring them forward when the legislature resumes after its two-week spring break.
“I understand the government needs to be able to move quickly with this ever-changing, turbulent time, but we will want to make sure that there is the right guardrails in place,” said Valeriote. “If they want to be able to get this through, they should be amenable to amendments.”
The Greens have two MLAs and have a formal agreement to support the NDP government, which has a one-seat majority.
He said they also would like to see changes that bring more transparency, to give the legislature a look at changes and provide feedback, “so these decisions are not being made in the dark.”
He said the Greens would also like to talk about the timelines in the legislation, which gives Eby’s government the broad powers until May 28, 2027.
The Greens haven’t said they would vote against the legislation, and the NDP could push legislation through without them with their 47 seats to 46 held by opposition partners — the 41 Conservatives, three Independents and two Greens. The Speaker, an NDP member, casts votes to break a tie.
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.
Eby has said 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 he didn’t believe the courts would uphold such a measure and expected it to be challenged.
“Whenever a government pushes the envelope of the power of the cabinet to do whatever it wants, everyone has to push back because that’s how you end up with really bad decisions and boondoggles and wastes of the public’s money, when there is no public review of proposed changes,” said Conacher.
B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad said Friday his party intends to find a way to stop the legislation, although he wouldn’t say what his party has planned.
“Stay tuned,” he said.
Rustad said all options were on the table, including legal action.
“The kind of bizarre thing about this is, when you look at Bill 7, what David Eby is actually proposing is more draconian power than even Donald Trump. He wants a blank cheque to do anything he wants,” said Rustad.
Stewart Prest, a political scientist and lecturer at the University of B.C., said a legal challenge would have to demonstrate the legislation was clearly running afoul of some kind of constitutional principle. Prest noted that in times of emergency and unusual situations, courts do give governments a measure of space to deal with those situations.
However, the government does need to be careful that these powers aren’t seen as being abused, added Prest.
“I think they do have to be careful not to reinforce the perception of unaccountable governance and inadvertently strengthening populist voices at a time when you are trying to combat what is populism on steroids in the United States,” he said.
With files from Alec Lazenby
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