A new B.C. bill gives unchecked power to Cabinet and puts communities, ecosystems, and Indigenous rights at risk
Earlier this month, Premier David Eby’s government introduced Bill 15, the Infrastructure Projects Act. On the surface, it sounds like a good thing — who wouldn’t want faster schools and hospitals built in their community?
But dig a little deeper, and the truth is alarming. Bill 15 doesn’t just fast-track schools and hospitals — it quietly opens the door for the government to ram through large, industrial developments like mines and LNG projects without proper environmental review or public input.
Let’s break down why this bill is dangerous, and what you can do to stop it.
What’s really going on with Bill 15?
Bill 15 gives Cabinet the power to override standard environmental rules for “designated projects.” This means the government could approve a mine or dam without fulsomely assessing cumulative impacts, consulting the public, seeking Indigenous consensus, or meeting other permitting requirements.
And here’s the scariest part: most of the bill’s key details are not even in the bill!
For example, the bill sets out no limits on what projects can be “designated”. Those details will be added later through regulations. That means we won’t know which projects are affected, what rules are being skipped, or who is making the decisions until it’s too late and the bill is passed into law.
This also means that this and any future government can change which projects qualify for designation without the Legislature’s approval—so Premier Eby’s promise not to fast-track LNG projects offers no lasting protection against his or future governments doing exactly that.
This applies to essentially any promise the current government makes regarding how they will limit the use of Bill 15: their intentions don’t change the broad language of the bill, and regulations can be easily amended to fit the whims of current and future governments.
Imagine giving someone a blank cheque — and trusting they won’t overspend. That’s what Bill 15 does.
This bill could open dangerous doors
This bill allows the Cabinet to designate projects and allow those projects to hastily rush to approval by:
- Letting private consultants issue certifications to replace permits issued by government regulators.
- Exempting major resource projects from key environmental assessment requirements, like mandatory public comment periods, consensus-seeking with Indigenous Nations, and assessing the full environmental impacts a project could have on wildlife and communities.
- Giving Cabinet or the minister unconstrained powers to force regulators and local governments to issue permits or change environmental requirements despite potential harm,
.such as preventing pollution from impacting community air quality or tailings from contaminating drinking water.
We’ve seen what happens when proper safeguards are ignored. Think of the Mount Polley mine disaster. Environmental assessments and permits are not red tape — they’re lifelines that help us avoid irreversible mistakes that harm our communities, our economy, and the environment on which we rely.
The B.C. NDP is tying this bill to a confidence vote — essentially threatening a provincial election if it doesn’t pass. That’s not leadership — that’s unfairly leveraging legislative economy,s to help guarantee the bill passes.
We’re not alone — the backlash is growing
Indigenous leaders, environmental advocates, and concerned citizens across the province are speaking out. Indigenous nations were not properly consulted before this bill was announced despite the significant impacts that fast-tracking resource projects can have on Indigenous lands and governance. We are a dangerous trend across Canada where governments siding is siding with private industry interests over the health of communities and ecosystems. Ontario did it with Bill 5. Now B.C. is following the same path.
This isn’t just bad policy. It’s undemocratic.
What you can do right now
We must stop Bill 15 before it becomes law. You have a voice, and it matters. Let’s remind our elected representatives that we elected a government to serve the people — not corporations.
Act now by sending a letter to NDP MLAs through our advocacy tool. Demand that the BC government scrap Bill 15 and protect B.C.’s communities, ecosystems, and democratic process.
Let’s stand up for the land, water, and future that sustains us. Together, we can protect what matters.
This blog was written with contributions from Shayoni Mehta, of Ecojustice’s communications team.