David Eby's unnecessary use of 'confidence' votes finally backfires. “The problem is Premier Eby himself” -- Grand Chief Stewart Phillip
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Sid Shniad
Apr 14, 2026, 8:24:19 PM (2 days ago) Apr 14
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https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/vaughn-palmer-bc-premier-david-eby-unnecessary-use-of-confidence-votes-finally-backfires
Vancouver Sun Apr 13, 2026
David Eby's unnecessary use of 'confidence' votes finally backfires
Premier backpedals again on changing DRIPA after NDP MLA decides to vote no. Now what?
By Vaughn Palmer
B.C. Premier David Eby Photo by Government of B.C.
VICTORIA — Since narrowly winning the 2024 election, Premier David Eby has made unprecedented use of confidence votes to corral NDP MLAs into supporting his legislative agenda.
With previous governments, confidence votes were confined to the budget and throne speech, matters on which it was widely understood that the government would and should stand or fall.
Eby has expanded the practice to include legislation in support of resource development, infrastructure projects and expedited environmental approvals, sometimes with no clear indication for why the designation was necessary.
This time last year the government introduced the Infrastructure Projects Act to provide “accelerated” approval of “provincially significant projects that provide economic, environmental or social benefits to B.C.”
This was said to be of “urgent” importance and therefore worth designation as a matter of confidence.
It was duly passed into law with all 46 NDP MLAs voting to support it against 46 “nays” from the opposition parties and independents. Legislative Speaker Raj Chouhan then cast the tiebreaking vote to ensure passage.
Thus the real reason for the premier’s use of the confidence designation: ensuring NDP MLAs and ministers turn out to support his latest policy whim while providing the Speaker with a rationale to break the tie and ensure the government lives to fight another day.
In short, it is a tool for managing the government side of the house.
But the aforementioned exercise in whipping the vote wasn’t half as urgent or essential as the premier made out.
One year later, the Infrastructure Projects Acts is largely not in force. Its provisions have yet to be used to expedite even one infrastructure project. Nor has cabinet approved a single regulation to define what would constitute a “provincially significant project.”
Instead the legislation and regulations are bogged down with Indigenous consultations. The government initially skipped those in defiance of its own commitments to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
For those on the irony watch, the premier lately finds himself nearing the brink of a showdown over his UNDRIP commitments. He’s been mulling yet another “confidence designation” to bypass a showdown of the related Declaration Act.
But it has been challenging to keep track of the premier’s ever-changing positions on the fate of the Act.
First he was going to amend it. Then faced with overwhelming opposition from Indigenous leaders, he was going to suspend the offending provisions.
Through it all, he was sure that he had the votes on his side — meaning 46 NDP MLAs and the tiebreaking Speaker — to pass the suspension legislation.
Then Monday, he had to admit that “the math” no longer works for the NDP.
On Friday, Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs denounced Eby himself.
“The problem is Premier Eby himself,” said Phillip. “The NDP has a colossal leadership problem,” the grand chief, a longtime NDP supporter, told reporters.
“I would suggest the NDP deal with its leadership problem or it is going to meet its demise as a whole.”
Phillip then put the premier on notice that he did not have the votes on his side to implement his plan for the Act. He disclosed that his wife, NDP MLA Joan Phillip “does not support the suspension — she’s heartsick.”
MLA Joan Phillip and Grand Chief Stewart Phillip in 2019. Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG
Though the grand chief also told reporters that he didn’t speak for his wife, he was delivering the straight goods, as the premier himself soon discovered.
For as Eby told reporters Monday, he had himself spoken with Joan Phillip and she’d advised him she could not bring herself to vote for suspending the Declaration Act.
With that, Eby had to abandon talk of a confidence vote because the government would probably have lost the vote and been forced to call an election.
He also admitted “no one on our side has any interest in sending British Columbians to an election” — because they would probably lose that as well.
Yet he insisted that something must be done, because of the threat of further court interventions to overturn provincial laws for incompatibility with the principles of the UN Declaration.
So it is on to the next move, whatever that will be.
Sounds like some sort of First Nations consultation — presuming any Indigenous leaders will still talk to him — combined with the legislation that will be introduced and passed this session.
Maybe done in concert with Independent MLA Elenore Sturko. She introduced a bill Monday to repeal the clause in the Interpretation Act that says that provincial legislation “must” be construed as consistent with the UN Declaration.
Beyond that, I can’t guess at the latest dodge in Eby’s increasingly desperate bid to rescue Indigenous reconciliation.
“Obviously I would like to be right, first out of the gate,” Eby conceded to reporters. “But that’s not me.”
He’s right about that.
I’m thinking the New Democrats might have to attach some sort of locator beacon to the premier regarding his shifting stands on the Declaration Act.
Maybe give all of us a device like those used to find missing car keys, so we can save time tracking down his latest position.
vpa...@postmedia.com
David Eby's unnecessary use of 'confidence' votes finally backfires
Premier backpedals again on changing DRIPA after NDP MLA decides to vote no. Now what?
By Vaughn Palmer
B.C. Premier David Eby Photo by Government of B.C.
VICTORIA — Since narrowly winning the 2024 election, Premier David Eby has made unprecedented use of confidence votes to corral NDP MLAs into supporting his legislative agenda.
With previous governments, confidence votes were confined to the budget and throne speech, matters on which it was widely understood that the government would and should stand or fall.
Eby has expanded the practice to include legislation in support of resource development, infrastructure projects and expedited environmental approvals, sometimes with no clear indication for why the designation was necessary.
This time last year the government introduced the Infrastructure Projects Act to provide “accelerated” approval of “provincially significant projects that provide economic, environmental or social benefits to B.C.”
This was said to be of “urgent” importance and therefore worth designation as a matter of confidence.
It was duly passed into law with all 46 NDP MLAs voting to support it against 46 “nays” from the opposition parties and independents. Legislative Speaker Raj Chouhan then cast the tiebreaking vote to ensure passage.
Thus the real reason for the premier’s use of the confidence designation: ensuring NDP MLAs and ministers turn out to support his latest policy whim while providing the Speaker with a rationale to break the tie and ensure the government lives to fight another day.
In short, it is a tool for managing the government side of the house.
But the aforementioned exercise in whipping the vote wasn’t half as urgent or essential as the premier made out.
One year later, the Infrastructure Projects Acts is largely not in force. Its provisions have yet to be used to expedite even one infrastructure project. Nor has cabinet approved a single regulation to define what would constitute a “provincially significant project.”
Instead the legislation and regulations are bogged down with Indigenous consultations. The government initially skipped those in defiance of its own commitments to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
For those on the irony watch, the premier lately finds himself nearing the brink of a showdown over his UNDRIP commitments. He’s been mulling yet another “confidence designation” to bypass a showdown of the related Declaration Act.
But it has been challenging to keep track of the premier’s ever-changing positions on the fate of the Act.
First he was going to amend it. Then faced with overwhelming opposition from Indigenous leaders, he was going to suspend the offending provisions.
Through it all, he was sure that he had the votes on his side — meaning 46 NDP MLAs and the tiebreaking Speaker — to pass the suspension legislation.
Then Monday, he had to admit that “the math” no longer works for the NDP.
On Friday, Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs denounced Eby himself.
“The problem is Premier Eby himself,” said Phillip. “The NDP has a colossal leadership problem,” the grand chief, a longtime NDP supporter, told reporters.
“I would suggest the NDP deal with its leadership problem or it is going to meet its demise as a whole.”
Phillip then put the premier on notice that he did not have the votes on his side to implement his plan for the Act. He disclosed that his wife, NDP MLA Joan Phillip “does not support the suspension — she’s heartsick.”
MLA Joan Phillip and Grand Chief Stewart Phillip in 2019. Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG
Though the grand chief also told reporters that he didn’t speak for his wife, he was delivering the straight goods, as the premier himself soon discovered.
For as Eby told reporters Monday, he had himself spoken with Joan Phillip and she’d advised him she could not bring herself to vote for suspending the Declaration Act.
With that, Eby had to abandon talk of a confidence vote because the government would probably have lost the vote and been forced to call an election.
He also admitted “no one on our side has any interest in sending British Columbians to an election” — because they would probably lose that as well.
Yet he insisted that something must be done, because of the threat of further court interventions to overturn provincial laws for incompatibility with the principles of the UN Declaration.
So it is on to the next move, whatever that will be.
Sounds like some sort of First Nations consultation — presuming any Indigenous leaders will still talk to him — combined with the legislation that will be introduced and passed this session.
Maybe done in concert with Independent MLA Elenore Sturko. She introduced a bill Monday to repeal the clause in the Interpretation Act that says that provincial legislation “must” be construed as consistent with the UN Declaration.
Beyond that, I can’t guess at the latest dodge in Eby’s increasingly desperate bid to rescue Indigenous reconciliation.
“Obviously I would like to be right, first out of the gate,” Eby conceded to reporters. “But that’s not me.”
He’s right about that.
I’m thinking the New Democrats might have to attach some sort of locator beacon to the premier regarding his shifting stands on the Declaration Act.
Maybe give all of us a device like those used to find missing car keys, so we can save time tracking down his latest position.
vpa...@postmedia.com
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