‘Walks right over top of local government’; Bill 15 faces backlash from Kamloops politicians at two levels

KAMLOOPS — Last week, the BC NDP passed Bill 15 through the legislature by a single tie-breaking vote from the speaker. The bill aims to speed up infrastructure projects around B.C. but opponents, including the opposition Conservative and Green parties, along with First Nations communities and local governments, are raising concern about a lack of consultation and the ability for government to overrule official community plans.

“What I think most people in the province agree on is they would like their schools, their hospitals, their roads faster. They would like our economy to grow and that was our priority around Bill 15,” said Premier David Eby last week during budget estimates.

While speed and efficiency was the impetus for the passing of Bill 15, those who occupy the opposition benches of the legislature feel it steps too far into local jurisdiction without consultation.

“Well, I can ask the same question — why are be bogged down with all the red tape if they have been government for the last eight years?” questioned Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Ward Stamer. “They created this bureaucracy. And at the same time they are going to arbitrarily decide and tell municipalities like Kamloops where and when to build and who is actually going to pay for the infrastructure.”

The bill, which did stand as a confidence vote, passed by a single vote, with Minister Bowinn Ma speaking to its importance in reacting to growth.

“We have seen an enormous growth in population here in British Columbia and communities are calling on us to move quickly on the projects that are important to them,” Ma told reporters in Victoria.

Kamloops would more than welcome provincial funding, but Councillor Katie Neustaeter believes the bill is government over-reaching its bounds.

“Local governments are willing and critical partners of the province. We want to deliver on those things but this work can’t be done without us,” Neustaeter told CFJC News. “We see… a province that is downloading responsibility without funding on local government, while simultaneously overreaching into areas that are our responsibility, that we are suppose to ask questions about, that we are suppose to meaningfully engage in.”

This is all occurring while B.C. municipalities have been mandated to revise their official community plans (OCP) — plans the government can now overrule.

“If the province comes in and rides right overtop of it, then yes, it puts us in a very precarious situation. We put an enormous amount of capacity and staff time and dollars and resources into a revision of the OCP at the province’s mandate and it could be all for naught because they brought in a bill that, again, just walks right overtop of local government,” added Neustaeter.

While in favour of the essence of the bill and the need for infrastructure, Stamer questioned the execution from the NDP.

“When they say that there still will be opportunities for consultation, let’s see it. Let’s make sure that we do have community groups, we do have municipal leaders who are involved, we do have our First Nations. Make sure that we do a proper job and not just try to ram it down everyone’s throat. Because we know what that will lead to — it will have extended costs, extended consequences and it’s going to affect the taxpayers,” said Stamer.