Image: Conservative Party of B.C. / Chilliwack North MLA Heather Maahs (2nd from left) and Chilliwack-Cultus Lake MLA Á’a:líya Warbus. 

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Town hall meeting

Chilliwack MLAs to hold emergency town hall on Bill 7, which would grant Premier Eby sweeping powers

Mar 27, 2025 | 2:17 PM

CHILLIWACK — As business groups begin to push back on a proposed bill that would grant the B.C. government cabinet sweeping powers to respond to tariff threats from foreign governments, Chilliwack-Cultus Lake MLA Á’a:líya Warbus and Chilliwack North MLA Heather Maahs will hold an emergency town hall tomorrow night about the forthcoming legislation.

B.C. Chamber of Commerce President Fiona Famulak has written a letter to Premier David Eby and Attorney General Niki Sharma that the legislation known as Bill 7 lacks “guardrails” and allows the government to make nearly any change it wants to provincial laws “with the stroke of a pen.”

Famulak says in the letter released Wednesday that the bill is a “step in the wrong direction for democratic institutions” and without accountability to the legislature when changes are made, the government is unacceptably requiring British Columbians to “move forward on faith and trust alone.”

Bill 7 would grant Eby’s cabinet powers to respond to challenges from the actions of a foreign jurisdiction, or for a purpose “supporting the economy of British Columbia and Canada” without requiring debate in the legislature, something Eby says is required to respond swiftly to threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.

The bill is likely to be debated for the first time when elected officials return to Victoria next week and will be the first major test for Eby’s government, which holds a majority of only one seat.

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Warbus and Maahs invite the public to join them, along with invitees John Les and Gwen O’Mahony, Friday night, March 28 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Evergreen Hall, 9291 Corbould Street, in Chilliwack.

“Your freedom is at stake – come make your voice heard!” the text of a Conservative Party appeal states.

The BC Green Party, which signed a confidence agreement with Eby’s New Democrats, says its representatives continue to meet with the government this week over Bill 7.

Interim Green Leader Jeremy Valeriote wrote in a statement last week that Bill 7 in its current form has “vague wording” and “could allow for sweeping economic decisions without clear limits or transparency.”