The British Columbia government has drafted new legislation that would give itself sweeping emergency powers to respond to the threat of U.S. tariffs.
The legislative package enables the province to toll U.S. vehicles transiting the province to Alaska and to drop major interprovincial trade barriers.
It also includes a provision allowing the province to bypass the legislature in order to “temporarily modify the application or effect of B.C. laws and regulations” in response to threats external to B.C.’s economy or Canada’s sovereignty.
The emergency powers would automatically expire in mid-2027.
Speaking in Victoria on Thursday, Premier David Eby denied that measure was a “power grab,” saying the government needs the ability to quickly respond to U.S. President Donald Trump’s erratic and unpredictable executive orders and threats to annex Canada.
“This is emergency legislation, not everyday legislation,” Eby said, adding that the government would prefer not to use it.
“When there is an emergency like a natural disaster, we have these authorities. This is a human-caused disaster, we can see it coming, we don’t know what it is, and we need to be able to respond quickly. If we didn’t have this, people would say why didn’t you respond?” he added.
“Frankly I can see it coming like a freight train.”
Eby gave the example of the U.S. tearing up the Columbia River Treaty, and cutting B.C. off from its entitlement to electricity from Washington state as a situation where the province would need to move more quickly than usual.
Attorney General Niki Sharma stressed that the proposed emergency powers could only be used in response to an action from a foreign jurisdiction that impacts B.C.’s economy.
It would not give the government authority to allow natural resource projects without permits or executive orders, or to sidestep Indigenous consultation, she said.
“The proposed legislation does not give govt unchecked broad power, there are guardrails in place, the bill allows us to enable existing agencies and government bodies to carry out their mandates despite external attempts to harm our economy and our sovereignty,” she said.
“Any action used under the emergency powers would come to the legislature and there is a reporting requirement for that.”
Along with the emergency powers, the bill would give the B.C. government time-limited power to slash interprovincial trade barriers as it works on more permanent regulatory changes.
It would require recognition of any product or service that is approved for sale or provision in another province to be good enough for B.C.
Additionally, the bill would provide legal authority for B.C. government agencies, health authorities and Crown corporations to seek Canadian or non-U.S. products first when conducting procurement.
The legislation has yet to be approved in the legislature.
The province has already moved to clear U.S. alcohol from provincial liquor store shelves, in retaliation to Trump’s erratic and increasingly damaging tariff threats.
Trump has already imposed 25 per cent import tariffs on all steel and aluminum.
He has also imposed tariffs of 25 per cent on Canadian goods and 10 per cent on Canadian energy, though he has since partially walked those back.
On March 6, he exempted all CUSMA-compliant trade with Canada and Mexico, including auto parts, from his tariffs until April 2.
Trump has also threatened to apply new tariffs on dairy and lumber on April 2.