BC NDP continues to face criticism after passing Bill 15

Criticism continues to mount after the BC NDP passed a controversial bill designed to speed up infrastructure projects by a single vote Wednesday night.

All NDP MLAs voted for the legislation, while all 41 Conservatives, both B.C. Greens, and the three Independents opposed Bill 15.

House Speaker Raj Chouhan cast the deciding vote, bringing it into law. But since its inception, the bill has been facing opposition beyond the B.C. legislature.

Several Indigenous leaders say they weren’t properly consulted on the bill and argue it infringes on their land rights.

President of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, says Indigenous land rights are at the centre of many proposed infrastructure projects around the province.

“I think in many ways, this is the beginning of more intense dialogue with the province of British Columbia, and Canada, in regard to the rights of Indigenous Peoples as it pertains to lands and resources and human rights,” said Phillip.

He says the government missed an opportunity to build on the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA), a 2019 law that empowers the province to enter agreements with Indigenous governments and to “exercise statutory decision-making authority together” — among other mandates.

“The intention of DRIPA was reconciliation here in the province of British Columbia. So that we can fully engage all of these legal issues, constitutional issues, and develop a path forward that’s inclusive, that will provide for many of the outstanding needs in the province In terms of health care, education, homelessness, the opioid crisis, and we’ll have a framework that carries us through this,” said Phillip.

“We need to be engaged. We need to be consulted. And at the end of the day, it’s about free, prior, and informed consent, and that’s the reality.”

Former BC NDP MLA Melanie Mark, who was the province’s first Indigenous cabinet minister, says the move is “disheartening” and a “step backwards.”

Mark says Bill 15 isn’t in the spirit of DRIPA, for which she voted, in 2019, under then-premier John Horgan’s leadership.

“Politics is standing in the way of progressive public policy, and you can tell because it is so divided,” said Mark, joining the call to have longer consultation and debate periods for legislation.

“I feel really discouraged that we are turning a chapter on reconciliation.”

She says she’d like to see Bill 15 repealed or amended. But Mark anticipates that the Legislative Assembly will be challenged in court.

“Taxpayers are going to have to pay for what the NDP got wrong,” said Mark.

“So we all pay for not respecting the rights of Indigenous people, the respect for consultation, honouring all of the allies that have said, ‘Put a pause on these bills that you’ve rammed through the legislature.’”

Dr. Bethany Ricker with the B.C. chapter of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) says the bill spells trouble for the health-care system.

Ricker argues that it equates the rapid approval of building hospitals with the rapid approval of building liquid natural gas infrastructure.

“British Columbians are already paying twice for this industry: once with our health as pollution triggers preventable health crises such as asthma and heart disease, and a second time with our wallets as our health-care system strains to treat these preventable illnesses. The government’s new powers in Bill 15 must not be used to intensify the health harms of the fossil fuel industry in BC any further,” said Ricker.

She says the legislation makes it easier to avoid the checks and balances needed to protect the environment and thereby public health.

Ricker joined the call to have Bill 15 repealed or amended in such a way to not allow for the expansion of LNG projects.

Premier David Eby said Wednesday that the bill is “critically important” because it responds to a “rapidly evolving situation.”

He said B.C.’s largest trading partner, the United States under President Donald Trump, was attacking the provincial economy in the “name of annexing” Canada as the 51st state.

“British Columbians expect us to respond to ensure that we are protecting, as best as we can under this threat, our economy, that we are supporting them and their families, with high-quality services, that we’re building the schools and hospitals that we need, and that we’re doing so efficiently and quickly,” he said.

Mark said the government should reconsider the bills, saying the province has walked back plans in the past.

She pointed to a controversial $789-million plan to rebuild the Royal B.C. Museum under former premier John Horgan, which the government ultimately suspended after intense criticism.

“It didn’t go over as planned but former premier John Horgan had the fortitude to recalibrate, pause the project and mandate more meaningful consultation,” Mark said.

Mark says Eby can do the same in this situation, which would show the government honours the Crown’s duty to consult with Indigenous people.

“It’s never too late to do the right thing,” she said.

—With files from David Nadalini, Ben Bouguerra, Dean Recksiedler, and Raynaldo Suarez