2 weeks Ago By The Vancouver Sun
VICTORIA — Premier David Eby lead off debate this week on Bill 7, the controversial legislation giving the NDP cabinet extraordinary powers to fight the tariffs from the U.S. The usual practice is for the cabinet minister who introduced the bill to speak first, which would have been Attorney General Niki Sharma.
Eby bigfooted her aside, only to run afoul of legislature procedure. The premier was just getting underway Wednesday afternoon, when Deputy Speaker Mable Elmore had to interrupt. Could the premier first make the necessary motion to start debate in principle on Bill 7, Elmore asked as politely as possible.
“Absolutely,” said Eby. “I move second reading of the Economic Stabilization Act,” neglecting the full name, which also includes the words “tariff response.” Details, details.
He’s only been a member of the house for a dozen years. Too soon to have familiarized himself with pesky procedures. Eby then delivered a ringing defence of the legislation as urgently needed in every respect, much as he said when the bill was introduced March 13.
He closed with a hope “that we can pass this bill quickly so we have everything we need to respond to this threat.” Missing from Eby’s five-minute speech was any acknowledgement of what he’d conceded last Friday – that Bill 7 was badly flawed and guilty of overreach. Nor did the premier mention his promise to remove the notorious Section 4, which gave the cabinet a blank cheque to override most provincial laws and regulations.
The next speaker, Conservative MLA and finance critic Peter Milobar, underscored the gap in the premier’s presentation. “I thought we would see some amendments that repealed Section 4, which is the most contentious part of this bill,” he fumed. “But it’s not removed.
It’s not even amended.” The usual practice with important government legislation is to post amendments in advance on the legislative order paper. That way the public, the press gallery and the Opposition can see what is coming.
But as of Wednesday afternoon: “Nothing.” It was enough to raise Milobar’s suspicions that the New Democrats were having second thoughts about scrapping the offending section. Maybe they were going full speed ahead, knowing that they had the votes to carry the day.
On that expectation, Milobar chose to critique the bill in its original, over-reaching version, Section 4 included. Milobar continued down that path for the better part of 30 minutes, until he noticed that Attorney-General Sharma was trying to get his attention from across the floor of the house. “The attorney general is holding up the amendments,” said Milobar.
“So isn’t that wonderful, that they tabled them.” Sharma would later take the blame for the screw up. She’d not gotten the amendments to the clerk’s office in time for them to be posted on the order paper for the day.
Good of her to take the fall. But I’d fault the heavy handedness of the premier’s office, too. When a colleague asked for a copy of the amendments, Eby’s staff refused to release them.
The amendments were finally published on the order paper on Thursday morning. They did indeed provide for the removal of Section 4. Several other discretionary powers were reduced or eliminated as well.
At the suggestion of the Greens, the New Democrats also reduced the sunset clause. The cabinet orders issued under Bill 7 will expire in a year, not two years as originally envisioned. Despite those improvements, Milobar said the legislation still has too many flaws for the Conservatives to support.
He vowed to make the debate on Bill 7 the major event of the spring session. “There are 41 of us in the B.C.
Conservative caucus. We’re all going to be speaking,” he reminded the government. We’re here for 61⁄2 weeks (of sittings), till the end of May.
Bill 7 — the way it stands, we will still be debating Bill 7. That I can guarantee.” Alas for Milobar, debate was just getting under way Thursday when his plan went off the rails.
As noon hour approached, the Conservatives, their inexperience showing, failed to produce anyone to speak against the legislation. The government, spotting the opening, did not put up any speakers from its side. “Seeing no other speakers,” as the phrase goes, the chair called the vote on that phase of debate.
The house then approved Bill 7 in principle by a vote of 48 to 43. The two Greens voted with the NDP, bolstering its majority. The breakaway caucus of three Conservatives voted with their former party.
Opposition Leader John Rustad was absent. Having experienced an amateur hour moment of their own, the Conservatives hope to regroup for the clause-by-clause phase of debate, which starts next week. The house will take up the government’s amendments.
Plus there are a dozen from the Conservatives. The Greens are expected to put up some as well. Though the government amendments, if adopted, would remove the most obnoxious parts of Bill 7, there’s still plenty of room for improvement.
The two sides could stand a refresher course on legislative procedures as well. [email protected] Related.
