Pressure is rising on the BC NDP government to separate its move to eliminate interprovincial trade barriers from a contentious bill that seeks to consolidate power in the premier’s office at the expense of the legislature.

Business groups made the call Monday amidst rising criticism that government’s Bill 7 is an undemocratic power grab under the guise of responding quickly to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats.

“We are calling for the separation of the internal trade section of Bill 7 from the remainder of the Bill. This will unite the B.C. legislature and allow for the swift passage and progress on internal trade,” Greater Vancouver Board of Trade president Bridgitte Anderson wrote in a letter released Monday to Premier David Eby and Attorney General Niki Sharma.

“The other parts of Bill 7 are truly unprecedented in scope, including the sweeping powers that would be conferred to the Cabinet. While it is clear Trump’s trade war has spurred an economic emergency, it is not clear to us that the sweeping powers are required or justified.”

The move comes as some business groups recalibrate from what had been initial positions of public support for Bill 7, now that the full impact and scope has become clear. The legislation contains sections that would enable reducing interprovincial trade barriers, banning U.S. procurement of government contracts and tolling American supply trucks en route to Alaska.

But it also contains a fourth section giving the premier extraordinary wartime........

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