B.C. government's father-knows-best approach to housing mirrors U.S. trend
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It's the cliché of all corporate clichés: 'We need to cut red tape.'
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B.C. NDP Premier David Eby, in a turnaround from earlier days, has fervently embraced this overworked business slogan to weaken regulatory guardrails. He's particularly doing so in response to the housing industry.
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The most obvious way Eby has been trying to cut so-called bureaucracy in recent weeks is by attempting to ram through Bills 13, 14 and 15 in a way that critics say would hand his government immense centralized power.
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So far, most news coverage of the many complaints being made against the fast-tracked bills, which aim to expedite the province's pet schemes, has been on the dangers the proposed legislation poses to the environment and Indigenous groups.
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But it's also emerging that Eby's power grabs, in the name of getting big things done efficiently, will severely restrict the independence that thousands of B.C. civic politicians once had to shape their cities and towns.
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Without saying so, Eby is, in effect, adopting the ideology of a new movement among centre-left politicians in the United States called 'abundance liberalism.'
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This push represents an about-face from the left's traditional approach: Not long ago, progressives were spotlighting the importance of choice, citizens' views and environmental, safety and social regulations.
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Instead of aiming for careful, sustainable growth, however, 'abundance liberalism' shouts yes to gung-ho expansionism. It's coming out of the U.S. in response to the decline of Democrat-held states, like California, which have been falling behind less regulated jurisdictions held by Republicans, like Florida and Texas.
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The shift is spelled out in two new books from the centre-left. Why Nothing Works, by Mark Dunkelman of Brown University, and Abundance, by prominent journalists Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, argue that excessive regulation has hurt America by blocking house building and infrastructure.
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There is little doubt red tape has slowed down some important projects. But it shouldn't be ignored that Eby, by wholeheartedly adopting the unrestricted capitalist attitudes of 'abundance liberalism,' is basically saying goodbye to his earlier self.
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Since Eby joined the NDP caucus in 2013, his party did everything it could to block some mega projects, such as the Site C dam and the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline. Eby also brought in rules to slow down how foreign capital was distorting housing prices.
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Back then he was attempting to protect locals.
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