Opposition BC Conservatives are swinging for the fences over the NDP government’s new emergency tariff legislation, saying it makes Premier David Eby a dictator, a king, and the head of a tyrannical and unaccountable government.
Those are just a few of the comments in a blitz of online videos, petitions and advertisements the Conservatives have put out since the bill landed last Thursday. The issue appears to have galvanized and fired up the opposition party at a time it is still reeling from internal dissent and the departure of three MLAs to sit as independents.
“Eby wants to be BC’s dictator,” Prince George-Mackenzie MLA Kiel Giddens posted on social media. Giddens added a quote from 17th century French judge Montesquieu: “There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetuated under the shield of law and in the name of justice.”
Langley-Abbotsford MLA Harman Bhangu called the new legislation a “desperate power grab.”
“He’s making himself king,” Bhangu said in a video posted online. “He’s dodging scrutiny to push through more of his failing policies. He barely clung to power in the last election, now he wants to give himself a blank cheque.”
They are extraordinary criticisms that in most circumstances would provoke an eye-roll from the public. But the NDP government’s Bill 7 is also an extraordinary bit of legislation. If passed, it will let Eby and his cabinet bypass the legislature for two years in favour of changing any law, regulation, policy, penalty or rule through an order signed during a closed-door cabinet meeting.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Conservative Leader John Rustad. “The only thing comparable would be the wartime measures act of the First or Second World War.”
Eby has said he needs the authority to respond to U.S. President Donald Trump’s continued threats of tariffs against Canada, and its annexation. He likened it to seeing a disaster on the horizon, and moving to put in place powers required to respond in advance to protect the economy.
“The tools in the legislation are about setting us up to respond quickly and will not have to be used unless the U.S. forces our hand to use them,” said Eby.
Business groups have largely praised the move.
The Conservatives have started an online petition against Bill 7 (though it appears actually more like one of those opaque online websites political parties use to identify new supporters). The party has also started fundraising off the issue with an email Tuesday from executive director Angelo Isidorou.
“David Eby is attempting to grant himself unprecedented, dictatorial powers over the people of British Columbia,” wrote Isidorou. “His actions seem driven by a hunger for power and desperation as his majority hangs by a thread.
“History shows us clearly: tyrants tighten their grip when threatened. David Eby is openly challenging MLAs, daring them to topple his government if they oppose his authoritarian move.”
On the latter point the Conservatives are correct, with Eby openly saying Thursday that he’d go to an election on the emergency powers if necessary.
New Democrats appear caught flat-footed by the intense criticism. Neither the premier, nor his ministers have outlined what they actually need the emergency cabinet powers for, or provided any examples to justify the move. No other provinces have brought in similar legislation in response to U.S. threats.
In the absence of that, the Conservatives are pummelling the government with all manner of rhetoric.
“Folks this is not a tariff response, this is government overreach in the purest sense of the word,” Columbia River-Revelstoke MLA Scott McInnis said in an online video.
“It’s only for two years, Eby says — we’ve heard that before,” added Chilliwack-Cultus Lake MLA A'aliya Warbus in her own video. “When the government is given unchecked authority, they rarely give it back easily.”
“Strong leadership doesn’t mean cutting out democracy,” said Surrey-White Rock MLA Trevor Halford, in his own social media video. “Why does it need unlimited power to change the laws and do that behind closed doors?”
Why indeed.
So far, the only answer from the NDP government has been: Because it wants to.
Rob Shaw has spent more than 17 years covering B.C. 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 CBC Radio.
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