Bulldozing rights, bypassing democracy

Bill 15 exposes the BC NDP’s willingness to sacrifice process and principle for power and control.

At about 8:50pm on May 6, 2025, Government House Leader Mike Farnworth rose in the British Columbia Legislative Assembly and moved time allocation on Bills 5, 7, 11, 13, 14, and 15. The motion was detailed and procedural, but the implications are clear—no matter where these bills are in the legislative process on May 28, debate will be ended, and the vote will be called.

This means Bill 15, the Infrastructure Projects Act, 2025, will be pushed through regardless of whether the public process is complete, no matter what questions remain unanswered, or what issues remain unexamined.

This is not just legislative efficiency; it is the further erosion of our democracy right in front of our eyes.

I have outlined my deep concerns about how Bill 15 negatively impacts Aboriginal title and rights, the Crown's duty to consult First Nations, the minimum standards in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, fails to meet the human rights standards in the UN Declaration, and guts the Environmental Assessment Act.

This so-called ‘streamlining’ poses a direct threat. The bill gives Ministers expansive discretionary powers to override constraints, fast-track projects, bypass regulators, and empower “qualified professionals” over accountable decision-makers.

Vancouver Sun columnist Vaughn Palmer wrote about Bill 15, extensively quoting infrastructure minister Hon. Bowinn Ma, who outlines her goal, to “untangle the regulatory mess.”

But as Palmer notes, “on closer examination, the two bills do not actually repeal any of B.C.’s heavy regulatory burden. Rather they give the cabinet arbitrary powers to override existing rules, regulations and procedures on projects favoured by the NDP.”

He continues, “New Democrats will assess applications for regulatory relief on a case-by-case basis, moving favoured ones to the front of the line and relegating others to the back of the regulatory pack. Which also invites speculation about inside deals, crafted by lobbyists and party insiders, and advanced for political purposes.”

Palmer identifies the core threat to British Columbians, the BC NDP’s continued shift from laws and regulations to discretion, from a fair and public process to political favour.

This is a power grab, one that I am all-too familiar with as a former MLA who sat in the opposition benches of a BC NDP government for seven years. On May 28 they will take the power to make or break projects behind closed doors, and without fair public process. Transparent, apolitical regulations are being replaced with opaque, case-by-case decisions.

Imagine how the 2014 BC NDP would have reacted if it was Christy Clark’s BC Liberals who introduced this bill!

I am concerned with what this government might do with these powers, and how future governments may use them. That second part is something the BC NDP rarely considers.

Minister Ma suggests Bill 15 provides clarity and certainty. However, I believe it creates less. As Palmer postulates, “proponents could wonder whether it was merit or political connections that determined whether their project got put on the fast track or left on the back burner.”

Our infrastructure assessment and approval process will become less predictable, more prone to political influence, and potentially far more vulnerable to litigation.

The response to this approach was swift. The Union of BC Municipalities, Ecojustice, and First Nations Leadership Council are just a few large organizations publicly expressing concerns. However, Premier David Eby has made it clear, he is not backing down.

It appears he is prepared to suffer short-term political pain, for the long-term reward of more control in his Premier’s Office over the infrastructure development in British Columbia—at least for the next three and a half years.

British Columbians have less than a month to make our voices heard. For First Nations this is our window to demand amendments to this bill to protect Aboriginal title and rights and the Crown’s duty to consult. We cannot be a procedural afterthought. We must remind this BC NDP government that reconciliation without consent, is just a repackaged colonial experience.

The impacts of Bill 15 extend past the those to First Nations. All British Columbians should stand united and demand the BC NDP back down, demand that regulatory regimes ensure public health and safety, protect the environment more efficiently, not bypass them for expediency while eroding democracy at the same time.