Mining, oil and gas lobbyists are using the shock and fear of the U.S.-Canada trade war to rush through sweeping legislation designed to accelerate projects planned years ago.

In Ontario it’s Bill 5, a thinly-veiled attempt by conservative Premier Doug Ford to sideline First Nations and open up “special economic zones” where provincial laws would not apply.

In B.C. it’s Bill 15, which will allow cabinet ministers to fast-track projects selected in closed-door meetings, based on criteria the BC NDP kept secret while ramming the law through.

On Wednesday night Premier David Eby forced every New Democrat MLA to support Bill 15, including the Speaker of the Legislature, who cast the tie-breaking vote.

Ex-NDP cabinet minister Melanie Mark called it “astounding and disheartening” that her former colleagues would “turn their back” on First Nations across the province who opposed the bill.

Eby’s former employer, the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, called it a triple attack on Indigenous rights, environmental protection and democracy in B.C.

Even the BC Chamber of Commerce said the rushed, undemocratic process and inevitable legal challenges of Bill 15 actually create more uncertainty for investors, not less.

Why did Eby do it? One clue comes from the only First Nation council in the province that came out in favour of the bill.

The Nisga’a treaty government said it supports Bill 15 as part of its push to build the PRGT pipeline alongside Wall Street investors closely tied to Donald Trump.

“We have been advocating for a more efficient and effective regulatory regime for some time now,” read a letter to Premier Eby signed by Nisga’a president Eva Clayton.

This was never about schools or hospitals. Bill 15 is a signal to billionaires in New York and around the world that B.C. and its resources are here for the taking.