Latest news with #C-5
National Observer
a day ago
- Politics
- National Observer
Bill C-5 passes the House of Commons vote after accelerated process
The federal government's controversial Bill C-5 is off to the Senate next week for a truncated study. Opposition parties amended the proposed legislation to ensure the government cannot override certain laws (including the Indian Act, Canada Labour Code and Criminal Code) but most environmental law and regulations can still be circumvented if a project is deemed 'in the national interest.' The bill would grant cabinet the power to override laws and regulations to get major projects built. In a marathon committee meeting Wednesday evening, the Bloc Québécois and Conservatives worked together to increase transparency and reporting requirements in the bill and prevent the government from overriding more than a dozen laws. But the government can still override important environmental statutes including the Fisheries Act, Species at Risk Act, Canadian Navigable Waters Act, Canadian Environmental Protection Act, Migratory Birds Convention Act and Impact Assessment Act. The same goes for regulations including Wildlife Area Regulations, Marine Mammal Regulations, two migratory birds regulations as well as port and mining effluent regulations. MPs had their last chance to amend the bill Friday afternoon in the House of Commons. Green Party Leader Elizabeth May tried to add the Species at Risk Act to the list of laws cabinet cannot override. The Liberals and Conservatives defeated May's motion, with Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith breaking rank and voting with the Bloc Québécois, Green Party and NDP. Erskine-Smith has been critical of Bill C-5 and previously voted against his own government's order to limit debate on the bill, which would also remove some federal barriers to internal trade. The Liberals and Conservatives voted together not just on the bill itself, but also on a motion to ensure the bill cleared the House of Commons before MPs leave Ottawa for the summer. Parliament will resume sitting in mid-September. MPs ended up voting on the bill in two parts, as originally requested by the Bloc Québécois. NDP MP Jenny Kwan made the request again today, and the Speaker of the House decided to split the bill into two different votes — one on the internal trade components and one on national interest projects — both of which passed. 'This legislation is an abomination' The Bloc Québécois, NDP and Green Party say the major projects bill is undemocratic because of the unprecedented powers it grants cabinet and lack of respect for Indigenous rights. The Chiefs of Ontario and many Indigenous leaders mobilized on Wednesday for a rally on Parliament Hill calling on Carney's government to drop bill C-5 and do it right this time. On June 16, Sen. Paul Prosper said he plans on putting forward an amendment to slow C-5 down if and when it gets to the Senate in 'hopes that more rational minds prevail in terms of consulting with Indigenous groups.' Elizabeth May, in the bill's final moments before the House of Commons, reiterated what many have said since it was introduced: that the speed of the bill and the vagueness of its application means much now rests on what exactly the government decides to do with it. 'There are many great projects … I'd love to see move ahead: east-west-north-south electricity grid, a passenger rail and bus interlinked system,' she said. 'There are many projects in the national interest, but we don't know what they will be and the factors in the bill are not requirements. We could have a great project that we all want to see go ahead — or we could have a nightmare." In the end, May — the sole MP to vote against both parts of the bill — did not mince words. 'This legislation is an abomination and one that will be a stain on the reputation of this government and of our Prime Minister.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Major projects bill expected to pass before MPs leave for the summer
OTTAWA — If you blink, you might miss it. Prime Minister Mark Carney's controversial major projects bill was set to finish its dash through the House of Commons today — the final day of the sitting before summer — with support from the Conservatives and not-so-quiet grumblings from the other opposition parties. 'Usually, on the last day of sitting before the summer, everyone is smiling, we're in a good mood, we pat ourselves on the backs. But today, I would say that's not really the case,' said Bloc Québécois MP Xavier Barsalou-Duval during a speech on Friday. The final vote on Bill C-5 in the House is set to happen shortly after 5 p.m. before making its way to the Senate for a final adoption expected within a week, on Friday, June 27. The legislation has two parts. The first, which has more support across party lines, aims to eliminate internal trade and labour mobility barriers in Canada. The second part, which would give cabinet sweeping powers to approve natural resource and infrastructure projects deemed in the national interest, has raised considerably more concerns. Indigenous communities, environmental groups, opposition parties and even some Liberal MPs have said they are uncomfortable with the lack of consultation with First Nations, Inuit and Metis people prior to tabling the bill, but also the extent of the powers that would give the government of the day the power to ignore other federal laws for five years. 'Pretending that this unprecedented power grab was ever discussed in the election is a sham, and we can add an 'e' to that. It's a shame,' said Green Party leader Elizabeth May. C-5 was rushed through committee earlier this week. Despite that, opposition parties managed to pass amendments which include exempting a number of laws — such as the Indian Act and the Conflict of Interest Act — from being ignored when considering major projects and publishing a list of national interest projects with timelines and costs. 'These amendments matter,' said Shannon Stubbs, energy and natural resource critic for the Conservatives when describing the changes in the House. 'They bring transparency, accountability, more certainty, more clarity and integrity to a bill that originally had none.' Stubbs said despite those changes, 'major concerns' remain. She cited the need to prevent ministers from removing projects from the national interest list at any time but also add in the bill clear timelines to approve projects to increase certainty for investors. On Friday, opposition parties claimed a small victory. NDP MP Jenny Kwan, with the help of the Bloc's Marilène Gill, argued the Speaker of the House should divide C-5 into two distinct parts so that MPs could vote on the portions on internal trade and major projects separately at third reading. Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia granted their request. 'While they are ultimately designed to strengthen the Canadian economy, they deal with different issues that could very well stand independently from one another,' he explained. The passage of C-5 concludes in a dramatic way a packed four-week spring sitting that saw Carney's government table significant omnibus bills, very fast, but adopt very few. The government tabled C-2, the Strong Borders Act, which seeks to secure the Canada-U.S. border, fight organized crime and fentanyl and boost the fight against financial crimes. It is facing criticism for sweeping new powers that would allow officials to obtain information without a warrant and for restricting the asylum claim process, among others. It also tabled C-4, the Making Life More Affordable for Canadians Act, which includes some of the government's campaign promises on affordability like a middle-class tax cut and removal of the GST on new homes for first-time homebuyers. However, the bill has been criticized as it also seeks to exempt federal political parties from modern privacy laws. Unlike the major projects bill, C-2 and C-4 were not fast-tracked, meaning that they will continue to make their way through the legislative process during the fall sitting. Interestingly, the first legislation to pass all stages in this new Parliament was not a government bill. Last week, MPs unanimously approved C-202, a Bloc bill to protect the supply management system which regulates the price and production of dairy, poultry and eggs, from future trade deals. That same bill was stalled in the Senate in the last legislature and ended up dying on the order paper when the election was called. This time, the Senate approved C-202 on division, and it is now awaiting royal assent. National Post calevesque@ Doug Ford apologizes to Ontario First Nations for his 'passionate' comments 'We have to get that balance right': Liberal MPs express worries about major projects bill Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.
Hamilton Spectator
2 days ago
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Mark Carney's government reviewing suggested changes to infrastructure bill
OTTAWA — The Liberal government is reviewing a series of changes to add oversight and restrain some — but not all — of the extraordinary powers created under its controversial legislation to fast-track major development projects. The proposed law, Bill C-5, has sparked warnings of Indigenous resistance in the coming weeks, along with condemnation from environmental groups, and some reservations within the Liberal caucus. But the government insists the legislation is necessary in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, after the Liberals won a minority government in the April 28 election while promising to supercharge economic growth and reduce Canada's reliance on the unpredictable United States. A rare alliance between Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberals and Pierre Poilievre's Declaring the need for speed to get new projects like mines, ports and pipelines approved for construction in less than two years, Prime Minister Mark Carney's administration is ramming the bill through the House of Commons over the objections of opposition parties this week, with votes anticipated Friday on a host of amendments proposed during a marathon parliamentary committee meeting that finished just after midnight Thursday morning. Speaking to reporters on Parliament Hill, Liberal House Leader Steven MacKinnon said the government was reviewing the proposed amendments, and that he expects the bill to pass in the Senate next week after it goes up for a vote on third reading in the House on Friday. So far, the bill has passed at a rapid clip through the Commons with the support of Liberal and Conservative MPs, with the Bloc Québécois, New Democrats and the lone Green MP opposing it. Asked about the bill Thursday, Carney was adamant the processes it creates will respect Indigenous rights and include the 'full embrace of free, prior and informed consent' — a key provision of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. He insisted it will ensure participation and consultation with Indigenous communities in choosing and reviewing projects to fast-track, including for environmental and other conditions the developers will need to follow. 'Consultation, co-operation, engagement, participation is at the heart of C-5,' Carney said. 'And that is how you build a nation, and that's very much how we've designed it.' Provincial laws seeking to fast-track development under the spectre of American tariffs have also faced criticism in recent weeks, including Ontario's Bill 5 that prompted allegations the government is infringing on Indigenous rights. Amid controversy about fast-tracked mining projects, Ford is sitting down with dozens of As written , the federal law includes measures to reduce federal barriers to trade and labour mobility within Canada. The criticism has centred on the other part of the bill, which aims to create a special process that gives the federal cabinet the power to choose and fast-track development projects it deems to be in the 'national interest.' The current version of the law says the government may consider any factor it sees fit, and gives the federal cabinet the power to skirt laws and regulations — including environmental protections — used to assess chosen projects for approval. The bill says the framework to choose projects to fast-track will expire after five years. The opposition parties' amendments include measures to increase parliamentary oversight of how the law is used. One proposed change calls for the creation of a special committee to examine how the law is being applied, similar to the body of MPs that was automatically created when the federal government triggered the Emergencies Act to quash the so-called 'Freedom Convoy' in February 2022. Other amendments would require the government to disclose documents it uses to choose whether a project gets fast-tracked, publish an advisory 30 days before bringing a new project into the process, and release a report on Indigenous consultations 60 days after a development is authorized through the new law. The proposed changes also aim at the special powers the bill would create, with amendments to limit which laws the federal cabinet would be allowed to skirt in the name of approving a development project. One of the amendments says the government would not be able to do this when Parliament is dissolved or suspended. Another — supported by both the Conservatives and Bloc Québécois — says the government wouldn't be able to circumvent laws that include the Criminal Code, ethics and conflict of interest legislation, the Indian Act, and the Official Languages Act. The committee shot down other proposed amendments, including changes to write the Liberals' professed two-year deadline for project approval's into the bill, and to reduce the sunset clause of the special fast-tracking process from five to two years. At Wednesday's long committee meeting, Lance Haymond, chief of the Kebaowek First Nation in Québec, warned the lack of consultation in drafting the legislation could lead to protests like the 'Idle No More' movement against the former Conservative government's bid to rewrite project assessments in 2012. 'The conditions for an Idle No More 2.0 uprising are being written into the law as we speak,' Haymond said. MacKinnon defended the bill Thursday, and shrugged off a question about how some Liberals have raised questions about concerns from Indigenous leaders and groups like the Assembly of First Nations. 'We believe that by moving ahead on projects, we will continue to give Canadians the confidence that we can get big projects done, can create jobs for skilled trades workers in this country, can attract investment, and can create economic development opportunities for Indigenous Peoples,' he said. With files from Althia Raj
Vancouver Sun
3 days ago
- Politics
- Vancouver Sun
'We have to get that balance right': Liberal MPs express worries about major projects bill
OTTAWA — More progressive Liberal MPs expressed cautious concerns about their government's decision to ram through the internal trade and major projects bill in a matter of days, with some of them saying it could lead to legal issues down the road. Bill C-5 would give the federal government sweeping powers for five years to quickly approve natural resource and infrastructure projects once they are deemed to be in the national interest — sparking criticism from First Nations and environmental groups. Those concerns have been heard loud and clear and, in some cases, have resonated with some Liberal MPs. The bill is being studied and will be amended in a parliamentary committee on Wednesday, before it makes its way back to the House of Commons for a final vote Friday. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Earlier this week, Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith said his government 'is proposing to shut down democratic debate, curtail committee scrutiny and jam the bill through the legislature,' all which he said would make former prime minister Stephen Harper 'blush.' 'Liberals would rightly scream if a federal Conservative government attempted the same,' he said in a speech to the House on Monday. B.C. MP Patrick Weiler also urged parliamentarians to consider how this bill 'could be used in bad faith by a future government' given those powers will be in place for five years. A few Liberals expressed discomfort at the idea that some Indigenous groups said C-5 could potentially violate their treaty rights and that it does not clearly define the need for them to give free, prior and informed consent for projects taking place on their lands. 'There is a clear desire on the part of Canadians to be able to get big projects done in this country,' said Karina Gould, a former leadership contestant and current MP. 'But there is a duty and an obligation to ensure that Indigenous rights holders are part of this process.' 'We have to get that balance right, because if you don't, the government will be facing court challenges,' she added. The warning has been issued by First Nations groups, including Ontario Regional Chief Abram Benedict who represents 133 First Nations across the province and said he would support them however they see necessary, whether it be in the courts or with protests. 'Obviously, we have to talk. We have to have those conversations, and we have to assure that Indigenous participation is included all the way through. And I think that will be the job ahead of us for the summer,' said Brendan Hanley, the Liberal MP for Yukon. Hanley dismissed the idea C-5 could lead to another 'Idle No More' movement? 'No. I think we're going to be able to handle this in collaborative conversations,' he said. Marcus Powlowski, an MP from Northern Ontario, said he has heard the concerns Indigenous and environmental groups have about C-5 but does not totally agree with them, nor does he think the bill in its current form gives the government too much power. 'I think, especially at the moment, given the international situation, given the pressures from the United States, I think we need a strong Canada. And part of being a strong Canada is getting major projects going, getting access to critical minerals,' he said. However, Powlowski admitted the government 'didn't have a lot of time' to come up with the legislation and hinted 'maybe this is the best we're going to get under the circumstances in the fact that we only have a few days to pass the legislation.' 'I think it's important we pass this legislation, and there's always an opportunity afterwards to amend it,' he said. Government House leader Steven MacKinnon defended the government's decision to pass C-5 before the summer, saying that it won an election campaign focused on lowering internal trade barriers and getting the economy moving with nation-building projects. 'This bill enjoys incredibly broad support, and we're pleased to be making progress on that,' he said. Other Liberals took issue with reporters describing the process as too expedited. 'I don't think we're ramming it through. I think we're getting it done with accelerated speed,' said James Maloney, the Liberals' caucus chair. Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault, a fervent environmentalist, sought to minimize the reach of C-5 this week. He said most major projects do not trigger federal impact assessments, so the bill would only apply to a 'very small number of projects.' 'I think that, as we move forward, we will see that the type of projects that are being proposed are projects that we want in terms of being able to achieve our 2030 targets when it comes to emissions reduction,' he said during a press conference on Monday. Guilbeault also expressed concern regarding consultations with Indigenous peoples: 'This is an area where we have to be very careful… It can lead to problems down the road.' National Post calevesque@ Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
Edmonton Journal
3 days ago
- Politics
- Edmonton Journal
'We have to get that balance right': Liberal MPs express worries about major projects bill
Article content OTTAWA — More progressive Liberal MPs expressed cautious concerns about their government's decision to ram through the internal trade and major projects bill in a matter of days, with some of them saying it could lead to legal issues down the road. Bill C-5 would give the federal government sweeping powers for five years to quickly approve natural resource and infrastructure projects once they are deemed to be in the national interest — sparking criticism from First Nations and environmental groups. Article content Those concerns have been heard loud and clear and, in some cases, have resonated with some Liberal MPs. The bill is being studied and will be amended in a parliamentary committee on Wednesday, before it makes its way back to the House of Commons for a final vote Friday. Earlier this week, Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith said his government 'is proposing to shut down democratic debate, curtail committee scrutiny and jam the bill through the legislature,' all which he said would make former prime minister Stephen Harper 'blush.' 'Liberals would rightly scream if a federal Conservative government attempted the same,' he said in a speech to the House on Monday. B.C. MP Patrick Weiler also urged parliamentarians to consider how this bill 'could be used in bad faith by a future government' given those powers will be in place for five years. Article content A few Liberals expressed discomfort at the idea that some Indigenous groups said C-5 could potentially violate their treaty rights and that it does not clearly define the need for them to give free, prior and informed consent for projects taking place on their lands. 'There is a clear desire on the part of Canadians to be able to get big projects done in this country,' said Karina Gould, a former leadership contestant and current MP. 'But there is a duty and an obligation to ensure that Indigenous rights holders are part of this process.' 'We have to get that balance right, because if you don't, the government will be facing court challenges,' she added. The warning has been issued by First Nations groups, including Ontario Regional Chief Abram Benedict who represents 133 First Nations across the province and said he would support them however they see necessary, whether it be in the courts or with protests. Article content 'Obviously, we have to talk. We have to have those conversations, and we have to assure that Indigenous participation is included all the way through. And I think that will be the job ahead of us for the summer,' said Brendan Hanley, the Liberal MP for Yukon. Hanley dismissed the idea C-5 could lead to another 'Idle No More' movement? 'No. I think we're going to be able to handle this in collaborative conversations,' he said. Marcus Powlowski, an MP from Northern Ontario, said he has heard the concerns Indigenous and environmental groups have about C-5 but does not totally agree with them, nor does he think the bill in its current form gives the government too much power. 'I think, especially at the moment, given the international situation, given the pressures from the United States, I think we need a strong Canada. And part of being a strong Canada is getting major projects going, getting access to critical minerals,' he said. Article content However, Powlowski admitted the government 'didn't have a lot of time' to come up with the legislation and hinted 'maybe this is the best we're going to get under the circumstances in the fact that we only have a few days to pass the legislation.' 'I think it's important we pass this legislation, and there's always an opportunity afterwards to amend it,' he said. Government House leader Steven MacKinnon defended the government's decision to pass C-5 before the summer, saying that it won an election campaign focused on lowering internal trade barriers and getting the economy moving with nation-building projects. 'This bill enjoys incredibly broad support, and we're pleased to be making progress on that,' he said. Other Liberals took issue with reporters describing the process as too expedited. 'I don't think we're ramming it through. I think we're getting it done with accelerated speed,' said James Maloney, the Liberals' caucus chair. Article content Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault, a fervent environmentalist, sought to minimize the reach of C-5 this week. He said most major projects do not trigger federal impact assessments, so the bill would only apply to a 'very small number of projects.' 'I think that, as we move forward, we will see that the type of projects that are being proposed are projects that we want in terms of being able to achieve our 2030 targets when it comes to emissions reduction,' he said during a press conference on Monday. Guilbeault also expressed concern regarding consultations with Indigenous peoples: 'This is an area where we have to be very careful… It can lead to problems down the road.' Article content Latest National Stories
