Eby's Bill 7 an 'assault' on democracy, say former BC NDP premier and BC Liberal AG
Hot off the Northern Beat press...
“It is the difficult times… that test us – whether we are true to our principles, or we throw principles out the window because it's expedient to do it.”
–Ujjal Dosanjh
A former BC NDP premier and BC Liberal attorney general rejected David Eby’s argument his government needs unprecedented and sweeping decision-making powers to deal with the American trade dispute, calling Bill 7 “fundamentally wrong” and a "brutal assault" on democratic governance.
“Cabinet is essentially given the power to override the legislation of British Columbia,” said Geoff Plant, a Vancouver litigation lawyer and former BC Liberal attorney general.
“That's fundamentally wrong.”
Bill 7 Economic Stabilization (Tariff Response) Act will give the premier and cabinet the power to override any law or regulation to support “the economy of British Columbia and Canada” and address “challenges” or “anticipated challenges” to reduce inter-provincial trade barriers.
Premier David Eby has said his government needs this wide-open decision-making capacity, unfettered by legislative oversight, to act swiftly in response to ongoing threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.
“The guardrails that are put in place make it specific that the power could be used if there is something from a foreign jurisdiction that impacts our economy," said Attorney General Niki Sharma, who introduced the bill. "So, it's not broad in the sense of anything. It has to be something that shows it's an emergency action based on the tariff and the trade war we're in right now."
But critics call it an unwarranted power grab, saying the bill confers unnecessarily excessive decision-making authority to the premier and cabinet, essentially allowing B.C.'s Premier David Eby to do exactly what President Trump is doing – swiftly sign executive orders by subverting the democratic process.
The bill contains a requirement to report to the legislature twice a year on what cabinet and the premier have done after-the-fact, with no obligation to debate or approve the changes by legislators, which Plant called “the most offensive part.”
Former BC NDP premier and attorney general, Ujjal Dosanjh, was similarly taken aback by the scope of the bill.
“This is a fundamental brutal assault on our Constitution, on our way of governing ourselves and it is not warranted by anything I can imagine,” he said.
“It just boggles the mind.
“I understand when you are governing, you are at the centre of things, and things are coming at you, left, right and centre and you have to confront them. You have to deal with them. What you mustn't do, is cast away the way we govern ourselves. And that's what they've done in this instance,” said Dosanjh, who was attorney general from 1995 to 2000 and premier from early 2000 until mid-2001.
“I can't imagine any circumstances under which any government in a democracy should be given these powers in a blank cheque.”