Liberals' major projects bill passes House of Commons with Conservative support
House wraps up for summer after passing bill that fast-tracks nation-building projects
The Liberal government's major projects legislation passed in the House of Commons on Friday evening as MPs wrapped up the spring parliamentary sitting.
Bill C-5, the One Canadian Economy Act, essentially gives cabinet the ability to pick certain projects to speed through the regulatory process, with an eye to projects that can deliver an economic boost to Canada, help strengthen the country's autonomy and resilience, "advance the interests of Indigenous peoples" and contribute to "clean growth."
The legislation was a priority for Prime Minister Mark Carney who promised to "build big, build bold" during the spring election campaign.
Once a project is deemed in the national interest, the legislation would allow the government to skirt certain laws — such as the Impact Assessment Act — in order to get construction underway.
The legislation passed fairly quickly, having only been introduced earlier this month. The Conservatives supported the bill as a whole, while the NDP and Bloc Québécois backed a part of the bill that removes internal trade barriers.
Liberal backbencher Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, who had previously called on the government to allow for more time to study the bill, also voted against the legislation.
The government hasn't said what exactly would be fast-tracked under this legislation — and there are no specific projects mentioned in the bill itself — but Carney has signalled support for new energy "corridors" in the east and west, which could include pipelines and electricity grids, new and expanded port facilities, mines and other resource-related initiatives.
After Friday's vote, Carney crossed the House floor to shake hands with a number of Conservative MPs.
Even though his party supported the bill, Conservative House leader Andrew Scheer said Friday evening that the Liberals "shouldn't be giving themselves a gold star or a pat on the back." He said the legislation only allows the government to get around barriers it has imposed itself.
"We'll see what happens now. We want to see whether or not Mark Carney and the rest of the Liberal government — who have spent years fighting against the energy sector — if they can actually get results," he told reporters outside the House of Commons.
Scheer also called on the Liberals to roll back some regulatory laws.
Despite the bill passing in the House in less than a month, it isn't without its critics.
Indigenous and environmental groups, along with MPs — some within the Liberal Party — and senators, raised concerns that the bill is being rushed through Parliament and will grant cabinet sweeping powers to override other laws to plow ahead with industrial projects favoured by the government of the day.
Those criticisms prompted Carney to hold a news conference immediately after the bill passed.
"These projects will build our national economy — and through Indigenous equity and resource management, these projects will be built with Indigenous nations and communities," he said outside the House chamber.
"This is not an aspiration. It is the plan embedded in the bill itself."
The legislation itself states the government will recognize, affirm and "respect" Indigenous peoples' constitutional rights when considering a project. But there's a fear among some leaders that the consultation process with First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities will be inadequate.
Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, national chief of The Assembly of First Nations (AFN), told the House transport committee on Tuesday that the bill was being rushed through Parliament without giving First Nations communities time to have their questions answered and concerns heard.
"We all need more time and opportunity to speak to this legislation and get answers," she told MPs on the committee, saying she's hearing these concerns from multiple chiefs.
The government sent letters to Indigenous communities last month, outlining what the legislation would look like before the bill was tabled. But Woodhouse Nepinak and other leaders who appeared at the transport committee said the consultations have been inadequate.
"The process that led to Bill C-5 is a case study in how not to engage with Indigenous nations," Kebaowek First Nation Chief Lance Haymond told the same committee on Wednesday.
"The conditions for an Idle No More 2.0 uprising are being written into the law as we speak," Haymond cautioned, referring to the movement that began in 2012 and led to countrywide protests, including road and rail blockades.
Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler, who represents 49 First Nations in northern Ontario, wants the Governor General to step in before giving the legislation royal assent — an unlikely and constitutionally dubious proposition.
"I'm hoping she's paying attention to what's happening here so that she can think about intervening," he said.
When asked Friday about those concerns, the prime minister said moving forward in partnership with Indigenous communities was always the intention of the bill. But he said that message might not have been articulated "as clearly and as structured" as it could have been at the start.
Carney promised Friday to hold "summits" regarding the legislation with Indigenous leaders starting next month.
The legislation is supported by the business community and building trades, who testified to Parliament that it can take longer to get projects approved than to get them built.
Other bills will have to wait until fall
Other government legislation that the House was examining hasn't yet made it to the finish line, and therefor will need to wait until MPs return to Ottawa in September.
Bill C-2 and Bill C-4 were both seen as government priorities that the Liberals were pushing to get through fairly quickly.
C-4 primarily would have brought the Liberals' proposed income tax cut officially into law. But even though the bill hasn't passed, the government can move forward with the tax cut starting July 1, thanks to the passage of a ways-and-means motion earlier this month.
The government's Bill C-2 focuses on strengthening Canada's borders, but advocates and some opposition MPs have raised concerns that the legislation would create new surveillance powers infringing on personal privacy and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The privacy commissioner also raised concerns with some of the provisions in C-4.
The Senate will continue to sit next week after agreeing to examine C-5. The House is scheduled to return Sept. 15.
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With files from The Canadian Press