David Eby's rush on major projects law was in vain

VICTORIA — Premier David Eby’s showpiece legislation to expedite construction of schools, hospitals, and other infrastructure remains mired in legal limbo, months after he insisted it was urgently needed to meet the threat posed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

“At a time of uncertainty caused by Donald Trump’s tariffs, it’s more important than ever that we create more good-paying jobs by delivering the critical infrastructure projects people need — faster,” said Eby in introducing the Infrastructure Projects Act on May 1.

“We don’t have a moment to waste,” Eby told the legislature during debate on the bill.  “We can’t live on infrastructure that was built by our grandparents. We can’t wait for jobs to be created in this province. The moment is now.”

Not a moment to waste?

Eight months have passed since the legislation was introduced, and seven since the New Democrats used their legislative majority to cut off debate and impose the bill over opposition from Conservative, Green and independent MLAs.

For all the premier’s insistence that the Act was needed to “get shovels into the ground” on school, hospital and other construction, it remains listed as “not in force” on the government website, as Rob Shaw reported in Business in Vancouver last week.

The holdup is the product of a gross miscalculation by the Eby government. It failed to consult First Nations in advance on the legislation, thereby disregarding the commitment to “free, prior and informed consent” in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which the New Democrats themselves enshrined into the province’s Declaration Act.

The lapse generated a backlash from Indigenous leaders.

“Unilateralism,” said Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs. “They are setting the stage for bigger fights.”

“A direct threat to our sovereignty,” said Cheryl Casimir of the First Nations Summit.

“I cannot overstate the serious setback and harm these actions have on the years of work on reconciliation,” said Terry Teegee, regional chief of the Assembly of First Nations.

“Astounding and disheartening,” charged Melanie Mark, the former NDP cabinet minister who was the first Indigenous woman elevated to cabinet rank in B.C.

The New Democrats had to admit that the Indigenous leaders had a point.

“We did not follow the interim approach that our government had agreed on, and that was clearly the error that we made,” said Infrastructure Minister Bowinn Ma.

“The bill did not go through the processes we’ve agreed to in terms of co-drafting with them (Indigenous leaders),” Eby conceded.

Those admissions led to myriad calls for the government to put the legislation on hold, stage the necessary consultations over the summer, and bring it back in the fall.

That was not Eby’s way. He’d already abandoned one exercise in legislative overreach last spring, diluting a bill that would have allowed the government to bypass the house for up to two years in the fight against the U.S.

No way was he going to surrender a second time to the forces of — as he saw it — Donald Trump.

Instead, in a move reminiscent of the courtroom scene in Alice in Wonderland, the government announced that the consultations would take place after the legislation was passed, not before.

On May 28, the final day but one of the spring session, the New Democrats used their legislative majority to cut off debate on the Infrastructure Projects Act when only a handful of the 48 clauses has been examined in detail.

They further designated the bill as a “confidence measure,” setting the stage for passage with Speaker Raj Chouhan voting to break a 46-46 tie between government and opposition MLAs.

“We made it clear that we want to get things done in this province,” said government house leader Mike Farnworth in defending the use of the legislative sledgehammer. “The public expects us to be doing that.”

If so, the public must be disappointed. Since the Act is still not in force, it hasn’t been used to move even one shovel into position at a school, hospital or other project.

I asked the ministry on Monday to explain the delay in implementing the “urgent” legislation. I was told it was the result of consultations on the enabling regulations for the Act, mostly with First Nations.

The exercise has included talking to 53 of B.C.’s 204 recognized First Nations, plus three Indigenous organizations. There have also been consultations with local governments, industry and other interested parties.

“We have extended consultations with First Nations based on their requests for additional time to provide meaningful feedback,” said the ministry statement. “These consultations continue to inform the development of regulations and policy. We expect to have more to share in the coming months.”

So, months to go before the legislation and regulations emerge from the murk of consultations.

Not surprising that Indigenous leaders, having been sidelined in the first round, would be in no rush to accommodate the government in the second.

But it does suggest what the premier might have put in place by now, had he been in less of a rush to stage a vain exercise in grandstanding against Donald Trump.

vpalmer@postmedia.com 

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