Note: this is an action that we ran in May 2025. It is no longer active.
Overview
Premier David Eby’s power-grabbing Bill 15: The Infrastructure Projects Act could pave the way for major projects to bypass crucial environmental assessment processes, skirt around regulatory oversight, and undermine Indigenous decision-making. The red flags of Bill 15 are not just in what it says, but what it doesn’t say: The bill gives government broad-sweeping discretionary power on “designated projects,” but it doesn’t define what types of projects these will be. The government is effectively giving itself a blank cheque to decide later what projects will be fast-tracked.
Why Bill 15 is so dangerous
Broad powers: Bill 15 grants Cabinet broad, undefined powers to expedite projects without specifying or limiting which projects will be prioritized. This opens the door to harmful developments with significant environmental impacts like mining to be fast-tracked with little consideration of Indigenous governance or public engagement. Projects designated under this bill will be defined later through regulation, but regulatory development is a less transparent process with no oversight from the Legislature.
Environmental protection rollbacks: The bill allows designated projects to bypass key stages of environmental assessments, which could leave ecosystems at risk, increasing the potential for irreversible harm to B.C.’s environment, and skipping mandatory public comment processes.
Ignoring Indigenous rights: Bill 15 could be used to bypass critical processes that enable Indigenous decision-making. The BC government did not properly consult with First Nations on this bill prior to tabling it, undermining commitments to reconciliation.
Vague regulations: Bill 15 leaves too much to be defined by regulations that are created by Cabinet, making it difficult for the public and the Legislature to know how this bill will be used until it’s too late.
Public backlash is already mounting, with municipalities, First Nations, and environmental groups all sounding the alarm. But to protect the most biodiverse province in the country from becoming crossed with hastily approved and environmentally harmful projects, we need a groundswell. That’s why we’re calling on you, our supporters, to act today.
We need your voice
Write to your MLA and tell them to reconsider Bill 15 before they push this bill through the Legislature. The last week of sitting is the week of May 26 and marks the final chance for this bill to be withdrawn. We need to raise our voices by May 23 and demand that the government reconsider this dangerous legislation.
View the email that was sent by 1,148 supporters
Dear <Recipient name>,
I am writing to strongly oppose Bill 15: The Infrastructure Projects Act, and the troubling trend of Premier Eby using the economy as an excuse and environmental protection as a scapegoat to sidestep democracy and build his power. I urge you to take a step back and see the troubling direction your government is going in, and to consider the potentially dangerous implications of Bill 15 to the communities your caucus serves.
This bill grants your government unprecedented powers to bypass essential environmental protections, Indigenous governance, and fast-track potentially harmful projects without proper environmental assessment or oversight. That is not how a government should build its economy. You’re also leaving the door wide open for any future government to fast-track any project, no matter how you intend to define designated projects in regulations.
Bill 15 is a step in the wrong direction for B.C. and its people. By granting Cabinet broad discretionary powers to define and fast-track projects, this bill undermines public input, community consultation, and the rules that protect us from experiencing community and economically devastating disasters like Mount Polley. If this is how you carelessly rush a bill through the legislative process, how can we trust you to treat fast-tracked projects with necessary due diligence?
By giving Cabinet the power to exempt projects from the normal environmental assessment process and push through other permits, the bill will further harm the province’s endangered and cherished species and ecosystems. Both the process and the substance of this bill threatens reconciliation by bypassing Indigenous consultations and decision-making processes. This should have been reason enough for this bill to be withdrawn, yet your government insists on moving forward with it. This is not the behaviour of a government who listens to community voices.
British Columbia is the most biodiverse province in Canada, and the health of our ecosystems impacts the entire planet. From endangered species and megafauna to freshwater ecosystems and ancient carbon sinks, there is too much at stake for nature and communities in British Columbia for Cabinet to allow any project it chooses to bypass our key environmental laws.
I urge you to withdraw Bill 15 immediately. We need stronger, not weaker, protections for our environment and support for Indigenous governance. If the government has to legislate to speed up important projects like hospitals and schools, then it should write a bill that is specific to those projects in proper consultation with municipalities and First Nations. Instead, Bill 15 hands a blank cheque to any future government to run roughshod over public concern, Indigenous decision-making, and the environmental laws that protect our communities and ecosystems from poorly planned projects. It is unacceptable for the government to hold unchecked power to fast-track dangerous projects that could harm our environment and our democratic processes.
B.C. deserves better. Please reconsider this bill and put people and nature first.
Sincerely,
<Sender name>