BC Government warned to abandon Bill 7

VICTORIA, BC: The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms announces that a legal warning letter has been sent to all Members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, urging them to vote against Bill 7, the Economic Stabilization (Tariff Response) Act. The letter warns the Legislature not to “abdicate its legislative role.” To vote in favour of Bill 7 would not only be unnecessary and undemocratic but would undermine the rule of law, according to legal experts.

Bill 7, which passed first reading in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia on March 13, 2025, is, according to Premier David Eby, an attempt to deal with economic harms caused by tariffs imposed by the United States in the on-going trade war with Canada.

It would grant the Lieutenant Governor in Council new “power to make exemptions from the requirements of legislation, modify requirements, and establish powers or duties in addition to what is set out in legislation,” the letter states.

In other words, Bill 7 would grant the BC Government unfettered power to legislate and to suspend the application of laws passed by the Legislature.

In effect, Bill 7 erodes the distinction between the legislative and executive branches of government in British Columbia, thereby putting pressure on the constitutional principle of the separation of powers.

This power is a form of the “Henry VIII clause,” according to the letter. Named for the monarch who ruled England from 1509 until his death in 1547, the “Henry VIII clause” allows a government to enact laws without parliamentary or legislative approval.

The letter notes, “The Legislature may enact Henry VIII clauses so long as it ‘does not abdicate its legislative role.’ In our view, that is precisely what Bill 7 does. The Power is not limited by subject matter other than to exempt two narrow categories of laws. The purposes provided to guide the [Governor in Council’s] discretion are too broad to provide any meaningful limit.”

Indeed, Bill 7 articulates only two limits to the exercise of this new power: the Governor in Council cannot change requirements to obtain authorizations for environmental assessments in relation to natural resource projects. Nor can they modify provisions of statutes “respecting engagement with Indigenous peoples.”

Not only are the limitations on this power too narrow, the purposes for which the power may be exercised are too broad, according to the letter.

If Bill 7 passes, the BC Government will merely have to show that its new power is “exercised for the purpose of ‘addressing challenges, or anticipated challenges…arising from the actions of a foreign jurisdiction,’ reducing interprovincial trade barriers, or ‘supporting the economy of British Columbia and Canada.’”

This power, according to letter, is undemocratic and a violation of the rule of law. Indeed, the letter reminds BC MLA’s that “Canada is founded upon principles that recognize…the rule of law” – words lifted directly from the preamble to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Finally, the warning letter points out that this new power is unnecessary. BC’s elected representatives “are capable of responding to urgent matters when necessary. The Legislative Assembly’s Standing Orders provide procedures for urgent matters. For example, urgent Government business may be given priority over all other matters. Urgent bills may be advanced through the three readings in one day.”

Lawyer Hatim Kheir stated, “Bill 7 is comparable to the War Measures Act in terms of the breadth of the power it would grant a government. The Members of the Legislative Assembly to whom we appeal in our warning letter must carefully consider the harm to the principles of democracy and the rule of law that would be caused if Bill 7 is passed into law.”