Photo: Contributed

Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream MLA Tara Armstrong

The BC Conservative Party is taking aim at three of its former members, including now-independent Kelowna MLA Tara Armstrong, for abstaining from a recent vote in the Legislature.

The governing BC NDP's controversial Bill 15 passed second reading in the Legislature Tuesday by two votes, after independent MLAs Tara Armstrong and Dallas Brodie abstained from voting.

The bill aims to give the government the power to fast-track infrastructure projects, from mines to schools, by automatically issuing permits, and overriding municipal roadblocks and environmental assessments.

The government declared the bill a confidence bill, meaning the government could fall if the bill isn't passed.

The two BC Green Party members had previously said they would vote against Bill 15, calling the powers granted in the bill “undefined and vague.”

But after Armstrong and Brodie abstained from voting on the bill's second reading Tuesday, the Conservative Party of BC blamed them for the NDP's “survival.”

“Let’s be clear: the NDP government survived and avoided another election because these independents didn’t want one. Why? Because all three would likely lose their seats—and their taxpayer-funded paycheques. By refusing to vote, they effectively supported the motion,” the BC Conservative Party posted to social media.

“They’ve tried to spin their alliance with David Eby by claiming their votes wouldn’t have made a difference, as the Speaker would break the tie. But that’s far from certain. More importantly, they were elected to show up and vote.”

In her own statement on X, Armstrong said it was clear that the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, NDP MLA Raj Chouhan, would have broken any tie in favour of the NDP.

“Contrary to the claims of some BC Conservatives, the government would not have fallen if we had voted against these bills. The Speaker would simply have cast the tie-breaking vote,” Armstrong wrote. “

“Even if the bill had somehow been defeated (e.g. by the Speaker voting it down), the NDP could simply have reintroduced a new version which granted even more unchecked power to environmentalists and indigenous groups in an effort to secure support from the two Green MLAs.”

She said she abstained from the vote because she agreed with some aspects of the bill and not others.

“We support the principle of reducing red tape for resource development, but not the politicization of the permitting process by placing even more power in the hands of Eby’s cabinet and indigenous groups,” she wrote.

“So, we did not vote for or against the bill. We chose to abstain. And the only way to do that in our parliamentary system is to leave the Chamber when the vote is held, which is why we were not present for the vote.”

The BC Conservative Party encouraged Armstrong, Brodie and fellow independent ML Jordon Kealy to resign and call a byelection, “so they can run as independents and let voters decide.”

A final vote on Bill 15 is expected no later than May 28.

Armstrong, who previously sat on the board of the BC Conservative Party and Kealy, left the organization in solidarity with Brodie, who was booted for comments related to residential schools.