The minister coordinating B.C.'s response to U.S. tariffs said government will continue to talk to lobby groups about related legislation while warning critics he does not want to hear complaints about a slow response. 

B.C. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon, who chairs the cabinet committee focused on tariff response, confirmed that his government is considering changes to Bill 7. 

"I can say at this point, we are listening to feedback from folks," he said. "What we have asked for is specifics...what specific concerns do they have, especially in light that the entire purpose of this (legislation) is to be able to support businesses and workers that are impacted by tariffs." 

Kahlon said Deputy Premier and Attorney-General Niki Sharma has met with leaders from the business community, unions, First Nations and the B.C. Greens. Discussions have revolved around including additional rail guards following concerns about the bill giving government too much power.

Kahlon said potential tweaks to the legislation remain unclear because conversations are still happening. 

"(There) hasn't been a decision yet," Kahlon said. "If there are additional guardrails that may be put in place, of course we will make it public at that time, but all our partners are important." 

Kahlon made that comment in response to questions about which groups are having the most influence on discussion. The B.C. NDP and the B.C. Greens formalized their Cooperation and Responsible Government Accord on March 12, with government tabling Bill 7 on March 13.  

Kahlon acknowledged the agreement with the B.C. Greens, which gives the B.C. NDP additional stability as it holds a single-seat majority.

"Yes, the Green Party is a partner," Kahlon said. "We have an agreement, but it is also important for us to hear from business leaders, labour leaders, Indigenous leader and that is what we always try to do and that is what we are doing now." 

B.C. Greens' Interim Leader Jeremy Valeriote said at the time that his party recognizes "the urgency of the situation" but also signalled concern. 

"We will closely scrutinize this bill and expect to propose substantive amendments to ensure transparency, accountability, and fair economic outcomes," he said.

Broadly, Bill 7 includes two major elements: the first half gives cabinet broad powers around procurement, tolls and inter-provincial trade barriers, while the second grants government power to address "challenges, or anticipated challenges, to British Columbia arising from the actions of a foreign jurisdiction." 

Government must report these actions to the legislature, but after they have taken the place. When asked whether government might divide Bill 7 into two parts, one dealing with inter-provincial trade issues, the other dealing with the more broader issues, Kahlon said he could not speculate. 

"But what I will say is that two things are for sure," he said. "One is that people that are critiquing the bill will be the same critiquing us later, saying that we didn't act quickly enough and what we hear certainly from the business community is, government acts slow," he said. "When we take steps to be able to act fast, then they raise concerns. So what we want to hear from folks is, 'what are your concerns?'"

Second, if government makes substantial changes to the bill, then it does not want to hear from people who say government is slow, when it had the ability to respond, Kahlon added.

"So that being said, we have come a long even in the last week from the conversations we have had with our partners across the board and there is a greater understanding now of why we are doing it," he said. "I think that helps create a lot more comfort with where we need to go."

When asked whether these potential revisions can be read as concessions that government should have thought through the legislation more clearly, Kahlon said he did not have tariffs from the United States on his bingo card.

He said earlier that there was more certainty during the COVID pandemic than during this current period because the actions of U.S. President Donald Trump change sometimes multiple times in a day. He also said that the bill is reactive and directly connected to threats  coming from a government, whether it is the Trump administration or China escalating its actions on Canada. 

"(The) bill is very much focused on responding to foreign governments and not beyond that," he said.