If there were any doubt that Premier David Eby lacks respect for the provincial legislature, he has removed it.
His government has tabled legislation — Bill 7, the Economic Stabilization (Tariff Response) Act — that provides far-reaching emergency powers to bypass the legislature.
The purpose of the statute, supposedly, is to address challenges arising out of Donald Trump’s tariff war.
But Bill 7, as drafted, basically gives Eby the power to do as he pleases, across almost the entire field of public policy, without any oversight or accountability.
For the next two years, the premier and his colleagues can change, rewrite or set aside any law or regulation behind closed doors.
Eby justifies this by asserting the need to act quickly, and he insisted that any actions he takes must be ratified by the legislature.
The latter statement is untrue. All the premier has promised is that he will inform the legislature, after the event, of what he has already done.
The longstanding principle, upon which parliamentary government rests, is advise and consent. That is to say, the government must advise the legislature of its intended actions, and the legislature must give its consent.
This legislation, if it passes unchanged, does away with that principle. There need be no consent.
To get a sense of how parliamentary due process is being overridden, a read of the act is illuminating.
First, the regulatory powers given to the premier and cabinet apply to “any laws of British Columbia respecting who may sell, purchase or use a good…(or ) a service that may be supplied in another province of Canada.”
So an entire body of law, covering numerous statutes and a wide range of economic activity, is thus set aside.
Second, this power to regulate applies “despite any enactment or regulatory measure that applies to the supply of a service.” Does this nullify regulations designed to protect employees, create workplace safety, guarantee consumers fair treatment, and so on? It certainly appears to.
Third, the Financial Administration Act, which defines the appropriate management of public funds, is explicitly superseded. Here, as with his massive budget deficits, we see Eby’s disregard for fiscal probity.
Fourth, “No legal proceeding for damages lies or may be commenced or maintained against a protected person because of anything done or omitted in complying with … a directive issued under this (authority).”
So not only are the principles of sound financial management disregarded, but the government’s agents, including presumably the premier and cabinet, are safeguarded against legal proceedings.
Not satisfied with gagging the legislature, Eby is gagging the courts.
Lastly, directives issued under this Act as late as June 30 can be made retroactive to Feb. 1.
This is the ultimate end run of the legislature, which wasn’t even sitting on Feb. 1.
The two Green Party MLAs have asked that the statute be amended, pointing out the many concerns it raises.
And the provincial Conservatives have assailed the bill, claiming it makes the premier a dictator or a king.
Yet regardless of whatever complaints they raise, or arguments they make, the opposition parties are effectively impotent. If the premier holds firm, they can’t force a change.
The NDP have 47 MLAs, the Conservatives 41, and the Greens two, with three former Conservatives who are sitting as independents.
One of the NDP members sits as Speaker, so in daily sittings the NDP are tied with the opposition. However in a tie vote, the Speaker can cast the winning vote.
This statute is as disingenuous as it is an offence against longstanding parliamentary due process.
The premier must accept this and back away.
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