Jordan Kealy says Bill 7 ‘needs to be scrapped completely’ despite announced changes

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The MLA for the Peace River North region was pleased to see Premier David Eby walk back some portions of a controversial piece of anti-tariff legislation.

Jordan Kealy took to Facebook to celebrate Premier Eby’s announcement on Friday, March 28th, that Part 4 of the Economic Stabilization Tariff Response Act, also called Bill 7, has been removed.

That portion of the bill drew significant attention and criticism from various political figures. 

Interim BC Green leader Jeremy Valeriote criticized the bill for its “vague wording,” warning it “could allow for sweeping economic decisions without clear limits or transparency,” while the BC Conservatives called Bill 7 “the most undemocratic, power-grabbing legislation in history.”

“This bill would grant David Eby unprecedented powers to override provincial laws, regulations and even personal privacy rights,” the BC Conservatives posted on X on March 20.

Party leader John Rustad said the bill would give the “NDP government sweeping, almost unlimited powers with zero oversight.”

It would have allowed the NDP cabinet to bypass the legislature in a way Kealy compared to the Emergencies Act in the federal government in an interview with Energeticcity.ca’s Caitlin Coombes.

“People weren’t happy with how this bill was laid out,” Kealy said. “What’s amazing is that that interaction, feedback from people – especially, there’s been more prominent people that have given feedback – that it’s made the premier pull back his stance.”

Kealy said the change is a good sign that people outside of the legislature can impact policy decisions.

Other aspects of the bill, including a proposed toll on commercial vehicles driving to Alaska, remain unchanged. That particular part of the bill has drawn criticism within the riding from the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality.

Kealy said he believes the bill “needs to be scrapped completely,” and he feels other premiers in other provinces have done a better job of dealing with international trade pressures.

“I’m actually very surprised that there’s not much being talked about with China, because China just ended up doing a 100 per cent tariff on canola,” Kealy added.

Kealy claimed he is completely against tariffs, no matter where they come from, because “all they do is increase the cost of living for all Canadians.”

“The less tariffs there are, the cheaper our lives are,” Kealy said.

The 2025 federal election is happening on April 28th. Let us know what topics are most important to you for the Prince George – Peace River – Northern Rockies riding by taking our survey at https://energeticcity.ca/election

With files from the Canadian Press