British Columbia Premier David Eby said he would stake his government on the passage of a bill to fast-track construction of the North Coast Transmission Line to power future resource projects in northwestern B.C.

Eby said the last thing he wants is an early election, but his government “will be prepared if it is necessary” to go to the polls should Bill 31 fail to get through the legislature.

The bill would give the government direct decision-making power over agreements related to the huge project to send power north, with critics saying it cuts out the traditional role of the B.C. Utilities Commission.

Eby’s NDP holds a one-seat majority, and without the support of two Green MLAs, Eby says there’s “a very narrow margin” to pass the bill, whose passage he calls “non-negotiable.”

A Co

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