It was an “unfortunate yet avoidable moment in the history of British Columbia,” according to Robert Phillips with the First Nations Summit.

On Thursday, the province faced a barrage of criticism as leaders representing municipalities and First Nations communities across B.C. joined forces to call on Premier David Eby to withdraw Bill 15 and other recent legislation aimed at fast-tracking development projects.

While Eby said the province won’t use Bill 15 to expedite “controversial” projects such as pipelines or LNG facilities, experts recently told The Tyee that the open-ended nature of the legislation would hand unchecked decision-making powers over to present and future governments.