Speaker Raj Chouhan broke a tie in the B.C. legislature on Wednesday evening on a major energy bill, with the government again pushing through its agenda without the support of the NDP’s sometime partner, the B.C. Greens.
Like Bills 14 and 15, the controversial energy and infrastructure bills that passed at the end of the spring session, Bill 31, the Energy Statutes Amendment Act, needed the Speaker’s vote to break a 46 to 46 tie.
The bill will allow First Nations to become equity partners in the North Coast Transmission Line and enable BC Hydro to limit grid connections for data centres and hydrogen export operations.
“The B.C. Greens want British Columbians to access this province’s clean energy advantage,” said Green MLA Jeremy Valeriote in a news release after the vote. “However, the premier and minister have made it clear that the North Coast Transmission Line is being advanced primarily as a public subsidy for LNG projects, rather than as a long-term investment in B.C.’s clean energy future.”
Because the bill was presented as a confidence vote, the government could have fallen if it had been voted down.
“It’s disappointing that they chose not to support the bill that’s good for addressing climate change and supports First Nations partnerships,” Energy and Climate Solutions Minister Adrian Dix said on Thursday morning. “I find their position perplexing, but this is a democracy; people are allowed to choose.”
Premier David Eby made the passage of this bill a key part of the party’s legislative agenda, declaring that he would “stake his government” on its passage.
Since then, Prime Minister Mark Carney has added the North Coast Transmission Line to a list of “nation-building” projects to be prioritized by the federal government.
The North Coast Transmission Line will run nearly the breadth of northern B.C., providing power for many resource and natural gas operations. It is projected to cost $6 billion for the first two of three phases.
The other part of the bill will allow the government, through B.C. Hydro, to limit grid connections for power-hungry data centres that are required for artificial intelligence to operate.
This bill allows the government to set yearly limits, meaning companies will need to bid for connections. It also sets similar limits for hydrogen production facilities which export product outside Canada, and makes permanent a ban on new connections for cryptocurrency mines.
The Greens took issue with both the transmission line and the grid connection limits.
“A real electricity allocation framework makes sure every kilowatt can be considered for its economic, social, environmental implications in the highest public interest, with climate considerations given the weight they deserve,” Valeriote said.