The BC NDP have passed two controversial pieces of legislation by the slimmest of margins.Both Bill 14, which allows the government to streamline energy projects, and Bill 15, which does the same for infrastructure, required a tie-breaking vote from the speaker.The Renewable Energy Projects Act passed 47-46, with the BC Conservatives, BC Greens, and all three Independents voting against. Less than an hour later, a vote on the Infrastructure Projects Act yielded the same results.Premier David Eby and the ministers leading the charge to pass the bills faced a significant amount of criticism from every angle. Among those who sounded the alarm over the contents of the legislation were indigenous groups, many of which argued that the government would essentially be able to ignore First Nations when it comes to pushing projects through.Business groups, and all opposition MLAs were vocally critical of the bills as well, warning that they presented a slippery slope towards authoritarianism.
