Latest news with #Bills13
The Province
15-05-2025
- Business
- The Province
B.C. government's father-knows-best approach to housing mirrors U.S. trend
Douglas Todd: Embracing the ideas of a movement known as "abundance liberalism," NDP Premier David Eby is doubling down on his party's powers while claiming to cut red tape. Premier David Eby, who used to fight over-reach by the state, is orchestrating "a full transfer of land use authority from municipalities to the province,' say watchdogs. (Eby speaks during a 2024 campaign announcement in Surrey about housing.) Photo by DARRYL DYCK / THE CANADIAN PRESS It's the cliché of all corporate clichés: 'We need to cut red tape.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors 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. 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. 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. 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. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 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.' 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. 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. 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. Stay on top of the latest real estate news and home design trends. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 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. 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. Back then he was attempting to protect locals. This new cut-red-tape, father-knows-best version of Eby is radically different from his earlier public persona, particularly when, as a civil rights lawyer for Pivot Legal Society, he co-wrote the book How to Sue the Police. The 108-page book details how B.C. residents should fight tooth and nail against any overreach by the state. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In the name of cutting 'red tape' around housing and other projects, the B.C. premier is grasping too much power, say critics. That was then. Now the Union of B.C. Municipalities complains that Eby's Bill 15 is basically a sledgehammer that 'provides the cabinet with extraordinary powers to override regulations, including local government official community plans, zoning bylaw amendment and subdivision approval processes.' Dense, complex and opaque to non-professionals, Bills 13 and 15 are coming down the pike while mayors and councillors are still trying to recover from sweeping legislation the NDP brought in two years ago. Victoria's earlier upzoning bills forced municipalities with at least 5,000 residents to approve four- to six-unit dwellings on single-family lots, and to automatically OK extensive highrise clusters of up to 20 storeys around SkyTrain stations and transit hubs. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'As has been proven in the past, a fast-tracked approach that skips over consultation is more likely to lead to unintended consequences,' says the UBCM's most recent public alarm. Municipal planners, including the mayors of Surrey, Burnaby, and Port Coquitlam, have been saying for two years the NDP's blanket provincewide upzoning is set to overwhelm sewer, water and electricity hookups, reduce parking and cut into green space. Worse yet, they say, the upzoning is not doing what Victoria intended: easing the housing affordability crisis. Instead, it's raising both land prices and property taxes. It's also limiting civic politicians' leverage in demanding community amenities from developers. Cityhallwatch, an independent organization monitoring Metro Vancouver politics for 15 years, says Bills 13 and 15 represent 'a full transfer of land use authority from municipalities to the province.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'The misleadingly named Bill 13 (Miscellanous Statutes Amendment Act) and Bill 15 (Infrastructure Projects Act) give the province the legislative power to fully implement and approve all zoning and development regulations directly, while bypassing municipalities,' says Cityhallwatch's co-founder, Randy Helten. 'This is extreme provincial overreach into municipal jurisdiction and gives the province the powers to directly implement what they approved (in earlier bills) if municipalities don't co-operate or do it fast enough.' In an opinion piece in Tuesday's Vancouver Sun, UBC planning instructor Erick Villagomez cogently argued that Bills 13 and 15 'mark a profound departure from the planning principles that have governed B.C. cities for decades.' 'Where previous legislation set targets, these bills enforce compliance,' Villagomez said. 'Provincial mandates become de facto zoning. It's a change in who gets to decide what cities look like.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. It's also not being lost on watchdogs that Eby's draconian moves to streamline, to put it euphemistically, the housing rules set by municipalities aligns with the demands of B.C.'s property developers and their allies. The B.C. government has regularly met with the Urban Development Institute, which represents developers, and these latest bills give it more of what it wants. It's the same with members of a pro-developer group called Abundant Housing: Daniel Oleksiuk and Peter Waldkirch. The sirens of concern being raised about an overactive NDP government are not meant to deny that some regulations have become too convoluted and costly. But unintended consequences will flow from the dominance Eby's government is determined to grab on urban policy. These bills could be quite damaging — and not only to the livability of B.C.'s towns and cities. But also to democracy, and especially to the public's already wavering trust in its elected leaders. dtodd@ Read More
Ottawa Citizen
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Ottawa Citizen
B.C. government's father-knows-best approach to housing mirrors U.S. trend
Article content It's the cliché of all corporate clichés: 'We need to cut red tape.' Article content Article content 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. Article content 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. Article content Article content 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. Article content Article content 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. Article content 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.' Article content 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. Article content 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. Article content Article content 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. Article content Article content 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. Article content 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. Article content Back then he was attempting to protect locals.
Vancouver Sun
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Vancouver Sun
B.C. government's father-knows-best approach to housing mirrors U.S. trend
It's the cliché of all corporate clichés: 'We need to cut red tape.' 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. 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. 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 . Stay on top of the latest real estate news and home design trends. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Westcoast Homes will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 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. 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.' 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Back then he was attempting to protect locals. This new cut-red-tape, father-knows-best version of Eby is radically different from his earlier public persona, particularly when, as a civil rights lawyer for Pivot Legal Society, he co-wrote the book How to Sue the Police . The 108-page book details how B.C. residents should fight tooth and nail against any overreach by the state. In the name of cutting 'red tape' around housing and other projects, the B.C. premier is grasping too much power, say critics. That was then. Now the Union of B.C. Municipalities complains that Eby's Bill 15 is basically a sledgehammer that 'provides the cabinet with extraordinary powers to override regulations, including local government official community plans, zoning bylaw amendment and subdivision approval processes.' Dense, complex and opaque to non-professionals, Bills 13 and 15 are coming down the pike while mayors and councillors are still trying to recover from sweeping legislation the NDP brought in two years ago. Victoria's earlier upzoning bills forced municipalities with at least 5,000 residents to approve four- to six-unit dwellings on single-family lots, and to automatically OK extensive highrise clusters of up to 20 storeys around SkyTrain stations and transit hubs. 'As has been proven in the past, a fast-tracked approach that skips over consultation is more likely to lead to unintended consequences,' says the UBCM's most recent public alarm. Municipal planners, including the mayors of Surrey, Burnaby, and Port Coquitlam, have been saying for two years the NDP's blanket provincewide upzoning is set to overwhelm sewer, water and electricity hookups , reduce parking and cut into green space. Worse yet, they say, the upzoning is not doing what Victoria intended: easing the housing affordability crisis. Instead, it's raising both land prices and property taxes. It's also limiting civic politicians' leverage in demanding community amenities from developers. Cityhallwatch, an independent organization monitoring Metro Vancouver politics for 15 years, says Bills 13 and 15 represent 'a full transfer of land use authority from municipalities to the province.' 'The misleadingly named Bill 13 (Miscellanous Statutes Amendment Act) and Bill 15 (Infrastructure Projects Act) give the province the legislative power to fully implement and approve all zoning and development regulations directly, while bypassing municipalities,' says Cityhallwatch's co-founder, Randy Helten. 'This is extreme provincial overreach into municipal jurisdiction and gives the province the powers to directly implement what they approved (in earlier bills) if municipalities don't co-operate or do it fast enough.' In an opinion piece in Tuesday's Vancouver Sun, UBC planning instructor Erick Villagomez cogently argued that Bills 13 and 15 'mark a profound departure from the planning principles that have governed B.C. cities for decades.' 'Where previous legislation set targets, these bills enforce compliance,' Villagomez said. 'Provincial mandates become de facto zoning. It's a change in who gets to decide what cities look like.' It's also not being lost on watchdogs that Eby's draconian moves to streamline, to put it euphemistically, the housing rules set by municipalities aligns with the demands of B.C.'s property developers and their allies. The B.C. government has regularly met with the Urban Development Institute, which represents developers, and these latest bills give it more of what it wants. It's the same with members of a pro-developer group called Abundant Housing: Daniel Oleksiuk and Peter Waldkirch. The sirens of concern being raised about an overactive NDP government are not meant to deny that some regulations have become too convoluted and costly. But unintended consequences will flow from the dominance Eby's government is determined to grab on urban policy. These bills could be quite damaging — and not only to the livability of B.C.'s towns and cities. But also to democracy, and especially to the public's already wavering trust in its elected leaders. dtodd@
