Premier David Eby’s decision to back down on the most contentious clause of his anti-tariff legislation has deflated what was a crisis situation into a throbbing political headache. Yet his government still faces a rough ride on the remainder of its proposal.
Three of the business groups that helped push back on Bill 7 say it’s not good enough for government to simply that gave cabinet unfettered power to bypass the legislature and change any law for two years (known as part four of the bill), because the remainder of the legislation also contains problematic overreach.
The bill enables cabinet to do three additional things: End any government contracts with American firms and protect the officials who do so from legal ramifications; enable 小蓝视频 to tax American supply trucks that use 小蓝视频 highways and ferry terminals, with fines and details to be set later by cabinet order; and lower interprovincial trade barriers by treating products in other provinces like they were created in 小蓝视频
All come with two-year sunset clauses.
“We remain concerned about the board powers over procurement and infrastructure pricing,” wrote the Business Council of 小蓝视频
“Part two allows the Cabinet to issue procurement directives that are arbitrary, without legislative scrutiny, bypassing financial controls, and shielding officials from liability. Part three enables cabinet to impose new tolls, fees, and charges on provincial infrastructure without debate or consultation.
“These broad powers raise concerns about transparency, oversight, and the potential for unintended financial impacts on businesses, workers, and consumers.”
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business agreed.
“Significant problems remain with the legislation,” it wrote.
“Part two allows the cabinet to issue arbitrary procurement directives while shielding officials from liability. This has the potential for the province to repeat the mistakes it made with Community Benefits Agreements, which increase costs and delays for public projects.”
Community Benefit Agreements were an NDP policy set in 2017 that required workers on designated government projects, like hospitals, to be members of certain unions. It added significant costs, and critics say it was a taxpayer-funded giveaway to NDP-friendly unions. Eby has mostly backed away from the policy.
The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade called on the premier to simply push forward the interprovincial trade measures and leave everything else in Bill 7 behind.
“We continue to call on the government to only advance the measures related to removing barriers to trade within Canada and not pursue the other parts of Bill 7,” wrote CEO Bridgitte Anderson.
The 小蓝视频 Greens also say they aren’t satisfied with the changes to Bill 7, with MLA Rob Botterell calling it “a work in progress.”
“We have been critical of this bill, and have introduced a variety of amendments to the government,” he said in a statement. “Still, we have serious concerns.”
The reason Bill 7 remains such a mess can be traced squarely back to the NDP’s decision to cram four separate policy proposals together into one piece of legislation.
It could have made them four individual bills, and likely garnered unanimous support for the interprovincial trade measures alone.
But the party wanted to use legislation as a wedge to paint anyone with concerns — mainly the Opposition 小蓝视频 Conservatives — as anti-Canadian, Donald Trump sympathizers.
It was an overreach. And the premier’s initial defence, to suggest an election on the issue, compounded the mistake.
Now, the government is left with a mess. One provision of the bill is widely supported. Two provisions are widely opposed. A fourth was such a disaster it tainted everything else before it was removed.
All of which makes a pretty compelling case for the government to withdraw Bill 7 entirely and start over from scratch.
Rob Shaw has spent more than 17 years covering 小蓝视频 politics, now reporting for CHEK News and writing for Glacier Media. He is the co-author of the national bestselling book A Matter of Confidence, host of the weekly podcast Political Capital, and a regular guest on C小蓝视频 Radio.
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