the broken typewriter

“If we can anticipate a disaster coming, we darn well better be prepared for it.”

This was just one of the strong remarks BC Premier David Eby made to reporters on March 13 during his announcement that the provincial government is putting forward Bill 7, the Economic Stabilization and Tariff Response Act, a collection of emergency powers aimed to help British Columbia deal with US President Donald Trump’s tariff threat.

“This is a human caused disaster. We can see it coming, we don’t know what it is, and we need to be able to respond quickly. If we didn’t have this, people would say why didn’t you respond?”

The press release accompanying the announcement stated that this piece of legislation will enable the BC government to be “nimble in its response, giving government time to develop more long-term responses, as the threat of tariffs evolves rapidly and unpredictably.”

Among the measures, which Eby and Attorney General Nikki Sharma say are intended to minimize the impact of tariffs on British Columbians while maximizing the impact on Americans, are proposed tolls on non-Canadian commercial vehicles using provincial highways to Alaska.

“The specific vehicles and the routes that we’re looking at currently are from Washington State to supply Alaska,” said Eby.

There is only one road from BC to Alaska – the Alaska Highway – which was built by the Americans during World War II.

“There’s a very specific reason we’re looking at that, it’s not because we hate Alaskans, it’s because there’s a Republican governor, and there’s a Republican congresswoman and they have access to the president, they have the ability to deliver the message for us of how integrated we are.”

But in his zeal to get his message across to President Trump, Eby may have bit off more than he can chew.

As he also stated in his press conference, Canada and the United States not only worked together to build the road, but they work together to maintain it. Specifically, through an agreement from January 1977, which is still in effect according to the Government of Canada’s website.

In an Annex, which laid out conditions for the reconstruction of the Alaska Highway mostly dealing with contractors and funding, there is a section that might create problems for Eby, given Trump’s opinions on the Panama Canal.

Article II, Section 3 states that Canada will:

2. not impose any highway toll, or permit any such toll to be charged for the use of such highways by vehicles or persons,

3. not levy or assess, directly or indirectly, any fee, tax or other charge for the use of such highways by vehicles or persons from the United States that does not apply equally to vehicles or persons of Canada.

Eby says he wants to “send a message” to President Trump.

What message will Trump send to British Columbia, if Bill 7 does, as it appears to on the surface, violate an agreement between Canada and the United States?

“We don’t want to use these authorities,” Eby said.

“Sadly, we do need these authorities to make sure we’re able to respond in an emergency and frankly, I can see it coming like a freight train.”

If passed, the legislation will be automatically repealed by May 28, 2027, but in the meantime would give temporary authority to cabinet to make use of what it calls a strong set of targeted tools to fight back against any tariffs, and counter negative impacts on British Columbians and Canadians.

The rest of the measures included in the legislation:

• Remove or amend barriers that impede interprovincial trade;
• Direct public-sector bodies to exclude US suppliers when procuring goods and services; and
• Temporarily make changes to cut red tape and regulations to take fast action to defend the BC economy from challenges brought on by continued threats.

The government noted that the legislation can’t be used to override environmental assessments or other permitting requirements for natural resource projects, nor eliminate obligations to consult with Indigenous Peoples.

The trigger for the emergency measures laid out in Bill 7 is likely to be 25 percent across-the-board tariffs on Canadian goods.

“That will require a strong response from Canadians. We’ll work with the federal government and with the premiers, and with the tools that this Bill enables to ensure that British Columbia is part of that Team Canada response,” Eby said.

“We’re sticking it to the Americans, just like the President’s trying to stick it to us.”