The 小蓝视频 Green Party said it won’t back a proposed infrastructure bill put forward by the provincial government to approve a sweeping list of projects it deems are “provincially significant.”
The NDP government introduced Bill 15 last week to expedite the construction of infrastructure across the province.
If passed, the law would allow the government to more quickly deliver schools, hospitals and other core community infrastructure like student housing. Premier David Eby said it was intended to pair up with Energy Minister Adrian Dix’s bill on renewable energy projects.
“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 a statement Thursday.
By expediting the province’s environmental assessment process, the law would give the premier and the Ministry of Infrastructure substantial powers to build projects on behalf of school districts, health authorities and post-secondary institutions.
It would also allow for the streamlined approval of “provincially significant” projects built for Crown corporations, local governments, First Nations and private proponents, the province said.
“Provincially significant” projects are defined as those that create significant economic, social or environmental benefits for people in 小蓝视频
Among other things, they could include projects that significantly contribute to critical mineral supply; replace U.S. imports or diversify trade; work toward the province’s housing or climate goals; provide food and water security; or improve disaster recovery, the government said.
The 小蓝视频 NDP government signed a four-year supply-and-confidence with the Green Party in December 2024. But a spokesperson for the 小蓝视频 Green Party said the caucus could not support the bill in its current form and that the scheduled first vote on the bill at the end of the month was too narrow a time frame to make the appropriate changes.
“We agree that hospitals, schools and public infrastructure need to be expedited, and that unnecessary red tape must be removed to get these projects built,” said Green interim leader Jeremy Valeriote in a statement.
“However, our concern lies with the bill’s provisions allowing the province to approve any project it deems ‘provincially-significant’—a term that remains undefined and vague.”
House Leader Rob Botterell, MLA for Saanich North and the Islands, said the party is not seeking to obstruct the government’s bill for partisan reasons, but that granting the government “unchecked authority to bypass local and Indigenous decision-making, whether now or under a future government, is deeply concerning.”
“There is a troubling trend of legislation from this government that concentrates power and reduces oversight—a trend also visible in Bill 14, the Renewable Energy Projects Act,” he said in a statement.
Also announced last week, Bill 14 aims to expand the authority of the 小蓝视频 Energy Regulator to permit renewable energy projects and transmission lines.
The proposed law focuses on several solar and wind projects selected under 小蓝视频 Hydro’s 2024 call for power, and would eliminate approvals across multiple ministries.
The bill also directs the 小蓝视频ER to prioritize the North Coast Transmission Line, which is slated to run roughly 450 kilometres from Prince George to Terrace.
“We’re deeply concerned about the consolidation of power within the 小蓝视频 Energy Regulator under Bill 14. This is a regulator already under public scrutiny for allowing oil and gas companies to sidestep environmental protections,” added Valeriote, the MLA for West Vancouver–Sea to Sky.
“Bills 14 and 15 together signal a direction for provincial governance that sidelines communities, environmental standards, and Indigenous rights.”
BIV reached out to the 小蓝视频 Conservative Party but has yet to receive a response.
Even with two votes, the Greens' opposition to the infrastructure bill diminishes the chances that it will be passed by the NDP government, said Stewart Prest, a lecturer in political science at the University of British Columbia.
"It certainly makes it a lot harder," he said.
That means the NDP is going to have to enlist a couple of 小蓝视频 Conservatives or else three of the former Conservatives who are now independents; or call on NDP House Speaker Raj Chouhan to vote in favour of the bill, he said.
Prest said opposition to Bill 15 is indicative of a recurring problem facing the NDP government as it moves to reorient the economy in the face of U.S. tariffs. Those efforts have largely leaned on fast-tracking big projects. But that requires centralizing power, something critics outside of government have bristled against.
"Democratic processes require business as usual," said Prest. "What we gain in speed we lose in representation."
