JOHNSON – Bill 7 is a temporary tool to combat a threat we didn’t expect

RECENTLY B.C. OPPOSITION parties and pundits from all over the spectrum have banded together to call foul, the David Eby proposed Bill 7 and its intent to quickly respond to Trump’s tariff war.

The usual argument of the protest is the loss of long held constitutional legislative norms, and suggestions that this is nothing but a slippery slope of an idea, bad enough to negate the whole idea before it starts.

To begin, it’s important that oppositional protests to proposed government actions are seen and heard on their own.  It is the function of an open democracy to keep government accountable, transparent and following the established democratic ideal.

This is the way when things are normal.  But what do we do, when things are not normal?

Yes, Bill 7 is an over reach when compared to normal legislative practices, regarding usual governmental responses to normal economic fluctuations … no question.  We didn’t need our elected government to have special economic powers when interest rates skyrocketed or as the value of the dollar tanked.

Would it, therefore, in previous normal times, appear to be a non democratic power grab, an end run around the Ledge, and a blatant attempt to disregard fundamental principals of representative government … if for example Mr. Eby dropped something like Bill 7 when Joe Biden was in the White House?

Very likely … and no one would stand for it.

The problem is … we are not in normal times.

If our B.C. governing body did anything like this in normal times, would we expect that the Canadian Constitutional Foundation, or the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedom, or other constitutional think tanks would announce their apposition to a bill like this?

Absolutely, it’s their job to stand up against and call out anti-constitutional actions.

Taking it a further step, do we also expect these same think tanks to also oppose such an idea DURING a time like this? Well, ya … we already agreed that it’s literally their job.  Their balance point between constitutionally appropriate and constitutional over-reaches would be pretty stable, and irrespective of what’s happening in the outside world.  That’s what we want them to do. It is a voice we must hear.

Do we therefore assume that it would it be pretty much normal for media, as well as opposition parties and pundits to scream the sky is falling, as they see statements like this from these think tanks, in response to a thing like Bill 7?

In a word; Ya. It’s what they do as well.

So where are we:
– In normal times, for those that know how our constitution works, this is unconstitutional.
– In these non-normal times, we still expect that those that know how our constitution works the best, would say that this is unconstitutional.  It’s what they should do.
– Therefore we expect others (especially the political opposition) to parrot that in any situation, that this is unconstitutional.

So … everyone has climbed onto their own side of the fence, and justified it as they need to.

Here’s the thing.

These are in no way normal times.

A few hours south, we have a crackpot authoritarian, 21st century fascist dictator empowered by his ego and love for tariffs, playing hopscotch with every economic norm our system has ever known … turning tariffs on and off like a light switch.

To keep our head above water economically, our responses need to be timely, on the day, enact-able and retractable, as his crap is posted on truth social, and literally becomes American economic law.

Those actually in charge of our day-to-day economic decision making in B.C. need the freedom to move nimbly, as this nightmare in the south chucks mood-based, economic trebuchet stones at us.

This is not a choice.  We have been forced to play a very real game, where we need to ‘go there’ … and suspend how the world normally works, and fight him from the very trough he swills in?

He is hitting below the belt, and we are protecting our head. We need a better jock-strap.

Does Bill 7 need to be a relatively short-term power? Absolutely.
Does it need crosschecks to keep it in a fairly narrow window of use? You bet.
Is this the new fait accompli for B.C. political powers? No way.

Is Interim Green Leader Jeremy Valeriote correct to say that the proposed Bill 7 in its current form has “vague wording” and “could allow for sweeping economic decisions without clear limits or transparency” and “There’s no need for secrecy, decisions should be made openly, not behind closed doors, and the legislature should receive regular reporting on what decisions are being made.”

You bet.

I will assume that these changes will be made before the Greens agree to it, under their confidence agreement with the NDP. Transparency in how this happens and how it is used, is essential.

But … conversely, does it mean that we should immediately succumb to oppositional flails of ‘this is not how this stuff is done’ … which in essence is a demand to continue with what doesn’t work, in times of a tyrant whose economic policy is based on his breakfast.

We need more plasticity and suppleness in response to his mindless meandering, and its reasonable to say that right now we need a temporary bypass of the norm to wait literally weeks or months to get a response from the Ledge, every time he shifts.

The reality is, the MLA’s screaming today may be gone camping through the summer break, when we need them at work in Victoria putting down an attack.  Right now, it could take months to get a response through the Ledge, when we need it in hours.

Should we not empower our government to do just that? Isn’t it obvious that the intent is to protect the B.C. economy?

This is not a permanent, not an indispensable, and not an irredeemable change to our democratic system … but is it a thing we need right now?

I say … let’s give it a try.

To adhere to conventional norms, like the opposition and aligned pundits are suggesting, at a time like this when we are actively fighting a guy who completely disregards our country’s right to exist … makes one wonder just what the priority is.

Is the opposition actually politicizing the issue for their own benefit, and trying to use the threat of economic damage that trump could do, for their own political points?

“Look at how horribly Eby’s NDP dealt with Trump, vote for us instead.”

No, we shouldn’t disregard democracy as a whole because of Trump, but we should keep up with the tools needed to keep him from destroying us.

If Bill 7 doesn’t work for whatever reason, we throw it out. Even if it works well, and protects us from harm, we would obviously still throw it out when the threat is past.

If the NDP use this as the opposition is saying, as an obvious political power grab in B.C.,
we can vote them out next time …

Because that’s also how the system works.

David Johnson is a Kamloops resident, community volunteer and self described maven of all things Canadian.