The BC NDP's controversial Bill 15 passed second reading Tuesday evening 46-44.Two BC Greens MLAs and one Independent sided with the BC Conservatives, while the other two Independents opted not to vote.If implemented as written, the Infrastructure Projects Act would give the government far more power to fast-track projects deemed provincially significant. The BC Union of Municipalities warned against passing such legislation hastily, noting that "a fast-tracked approach that skips over consultation is more likely to lead to unintended consequences."."Disappointing that province's Bill 15 passed second reading," Surrey-Serpentine MLA Linda Hepner wrote in a post on X after the votes were tallied. "This is the most egregious power grab and loss of demographic [sic] process. I sense public outcry and lawsuits ahead.".Her sentiments were shared by fellow BC Conservative MLA Harman Bhangu. In a rant posted to X, he took aim at Independents Dallas Brodie and Tara Armstrong."Two Independents didn't even show up for a vote during work hours," he said. "Look around, it's light out! I'm usually here past 10 p.m., puttin' in the time, makin' sure I'm fightin' for British Columbians ... Now we have two Independents who couldn't show up to bring down the David Eby government.".Bhangu made it clear that "this was a confidence vote," and that the BC Conservatives could have gotten one step closer to defeating the BC NDP had the two Independents voted alongside them."I am absolutely sick of this," he concluded. "We need people who are gonna come out here and fight for British Columbians and work the hours that you expect us to work to get stuff done.".In a post on X, Brodie defended her actions."The BC Conservatives and Greens wanted us to vote against Bill 15 to give First Nations and Eco Activists even more control over projects," she wrote. "The NDP wanted us to support it and to endorse their arbitrary approval or rejection of projects from Cabinet."Brodie suggested the debate amounted to "the Left fighting the Left.""There were two terrible options on the table and we chose neither," she continued. "What this province actually needs is across-the-board deregulation and fast-tracking of the permitting and approval for all businesses and infrastructure projects, irrespective of political interests. We will keep fighting for what British Columbians actually want to see from government."The bill will now go to committee.
