File Photo (Image Credit: Flickr / Government of B.C.)

By Lorne Doerkson, MLA for Cariboo-Chilcotin

Sound Off

SOUND OFF: Draconian laws confirm the authoritarian nature of the NDP government

Jun 5, 2025 | 10:30 AM

AS MLAs HEAD BACK to their home constituencies following the end of the spring legislative session, a dark cloud looms over BC with the advancement of the overreaching Bills 14 and 15, which are now provincial law.

Both the Renewable Energy Projects Act and the Infrastructure Projects Act represent the most egregious power grabs from any government in the history of the province.

Opposition has been so fierce that the government had to induce closure on debate and then ram through passage by having the NDP MLA Speaker of the House break a deadlocked vote in the legislature.

In essence, both pieces of legislation give the government sweeping powers without having to worry about consultation or collaboration. Municipal governments as well as Indigenous leadership in every corner of the province have been extremely vocal in their opposition to the unchecked power now residing with the provincial government.

The province now has the ability to completely trample upon the will of local mayors and councils by “fast-tracking” infrastructure projects they deem to be in the public interest. This could give the David Eby cabinet the ability to rewrite local zoning bylaws, or override preexisting regulations at the provincial level, with the unilateral swipe of a pen.

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If a highway or fracking project is determined as critical infrastructure, for example, any dissent at the local level becomes moot. Simply put, differing points of view no longer matter within the NDP government’s draconian vision of the province.

Now while I’ve written many times in the past about the need to cut red tape and improve permitting for major projects and investment to flourish, that cannot come at the expense of democratic processes and regional autonomy.

I have been overwhelmed by the flood of inquiries my office has received regarding the threats posed by Bills 14 and 15. Now that both have become the law of the land, I anticipate many more years of outrage as the government selects and advances upon initiatives that they will force down the throats of British Columbians.

Yet as a proud member of the largest opposition caucus in the history of BC, I intend to spend the summer intensely focused on listening to the voices that the government has now officially decided to ignore. I know that all of my Conservative MLA colleagues will be doing the same in their respective constituencies.

The fight against these laws is just beginning, with court challenges and passionate voices of dissent likely to step up to meet the challenge posed by what is undoubtedly an authoritarian administration.

If the NDP government think that they now have a path to unfettered power without the will of the people of British Columbia, they are in for a rude awakening.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.