John Rustad: Eby is attempting the most sweeping and dangerous political overreach in the history of B.C.

On March 4, Premier David Eby declared that “all bets are off” as he prepared his response to Donald Trump’s economic warfare with Canada.

On Thursday, we found out exactly what he meant, with the introduction of the most sweeping and dangerous attempt at political overreach in the history of British Columbia.

The passage of the NDP government’s Economic Stabilization (Tariff Response) Act will, as hauntingly described by one prominent pundit, allow “the cabinet to override all provincial laws, regulations, authorities and even the legislature itself.”

Yes, you heard that correctly. Eby’s proposed solution to the threats posed by the U.S. president is to become B.C.s very own dictator, armed with unconstrained executive powers.

What’s even harder to believe, however, are the motivations he is openly expressing as his rationale behind this alarming new direction: “The government is governing with a very slim majority. At any time, members of the legislative assembly could decide that this was overreach, collapse the government, we’d be into an election.”

The scenario the premier describes embodies one of the most fundamental values we cherish as Canadians: democracy in action.

By contrast, within the world view of the NDP’s Bill 7, opposing viewpoints and political opposition are intended to be brushed aside and ignored because, as ominously stated by the premier, “the beast is coming.”

This is the government’s version of an all-encompassing enabling act, where a legislative body grants total authority to a separate entity to avoid the political inconvenience of such things as scrutiny, accountability and respect for the electorate.

In introducing this draconian legislation, Attorney General Niki Sharma stated that the unprecedented powers she is seeking will “ensure we can quickly act and be responsive to the unpredictability and quickly evolving threats to our economy, our economic security, and our sovereignty.”

Speaking about the concept of sovereignty when considering how much British Columbians are being asked to give up, should the minister be successful in her efforts, is beyond tone deaf.

Simply put, her proposed framework is downright scary, particularly when considering the potential abuses of power that the government could engage in without any checks and balances. Here are just a few to consider.

The NDP government could pass restrictions on what kinds of purchases private citizens can or cannot make. This means that products that are classified as unacceptable by way of origin or by being identified as a threat to the B.C. economy could become illegal.