‘Excess of 100 priority projects': Sask. Premier Scott Moe behind federal bill to remove project hurdles

Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe speaks to the media during a scrum after a televised leaders' debate in Regina, on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Heywood Yu
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe has given his support for federal Bill C-5.
'All projects can move forward in Saskatchewan,' Moe told reporters Wednesday during a meeting with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith in Lloydminster Alta./Sask.
'The very fact Bill C-5 has been introduced is an admission this hard work does have to happen,' Moe added.
Bill C-5, which the Liberals have coined the 'One Canadian Economy' bill, proposes to recognize provincial regulations with the aim of making it easier to improve the mobility of goods and services, as well as labour.
It also seeks to speed up the development of major projects deemed to be in the national interest.
It's the provisions proposing to grant cabinet new powers, with the intention of centralizing approvals for new natural resource projects that are being heavily criticized as undermining Indigenous rights and environmental protections.
There's widespread concern among opponents that if Bill C-5 becomes law, projects could be greenlit without adequate consultation, something prairie premiers have been calling for quite some time.
'If we have to build another pipeline with federal taxpayer dollars, that would be a failure of the process,' Premier Smith said Wednesday. 'The federal government simply cannot put so many barriers in the way that all the private sector proponents are scared out of the realm.'
'And the only way for them to come in is to build at six times the original cost. That shouldn't be the only way things get built in this country,' she added.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith address the media during a joint press conference in Lloydminster on Wednesday, June 18. (Chad Hills/CTV News)
Prime Minister Mark Carney has pushed the bill ahead in the House of Commons with the possibility it is passed before the end of the week.
'This legislation is enabling and creates the possibility of these projects,' Carney said Thursday during a press conference. 'It creates the possibility [and] a very clear process, which has at its heart consultation.'
Indigenous leaders have been critical of the bill.
Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak told CTV's Power Play its passing may override environmental protections.
'Seven days is not enough time to look at a big bill like this that impacts,' she said. 'First Nations aren't about stalling anything. In fact, they want prosperity, but not at the expense of their inherent rights.'
Carney believes the legislation respects Indigenous rights.
'At the heart is, not just respect for, but full and full embrace of free, prior and informed consent,' he said. 'It has to be seen in parallel with very major measures this government is taking to, not just support those partnerships, but also to finance, equity and ownership in these nation building projects. [Including] Indigenous peoples, groups and right holders.'
Business experts recognized the concerns of the legislation but welcomed the move in the midst of global uncertainty.
'This is a bit of an authoritarian approach to things,' national leader of economics and policy practice, PwC Canada Michael Dobner told BNN Bloomberg. 'But we are in an economic emergency situation.'
Moe says there are dozens of projects waiting in the wings for approval which are facing federal barriers the bill aims to remove.
'We don't have one or two or three projects that are a priority,' he said. 'We have literally in excess of 100 projects that are a priority for [Saskatchewan] to continue to be a wealth creator to a strong growing nation of Canada.'
The House of Commons is scheduled to adjourn for the summer Friday, and the Senate is slated to rise by next Friday, June 27.
Parliamentary business in both chambers would then be paused until September, barring an emergency recall.
- With files from David Prisciak, Luca Coruso-Moro, Rachel Aiello and Joshua Santos

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