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EDMONTON \u2014 As news of pipelines and energy corridor projects make headlines across the country in the midst of U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s tariffs and a federal election, the Progressive Contractors Association of Canada (PCA) and the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association<\/a> (ICBA) are sounding the alarm over Liberal Leader Mark Carney\u2019s decision not to repeal Bill C-69.<\/p>\n \u201cPrime Minister Carney makes it clear that he intends to double down on the same flawed approach,\u201d a statement from the PCA reads. \u201cRather than repeal Bill C-69 \u2014 legislation that has stalled, and in some cases outright cancelled critical natural resource projects \u2014 he\u2019s choosing to entrench it.\u00a0Since its passage, more than 25 major resource and infrastructure projects have been delayed or abandoned altogether, costing billions in lost investment and thousands of potential jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n The ICBA states the decision to keep the bill despite a Supreme Court of Canada ruling that much of the legislation is unconstitutional is weakening the country. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe Supreme Court got it right. Mr. Carney has it wrong,\u201d said Chris Gardner, ICBA president and CEO.<\/p>\n \u201cBy keeping C-69 in place, Mr. Carney is signalling that the Trudeau-era hostility toward natural resource development will continue.\u201d<\/p>\n PCA has launched the Let\u2019s Get Building campaign <\/a>during this federal election, which is aimed at raising public awareness about the importance of getting nation-building projects underway without further delay and the ICBA has endorsed Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre who has pitched an energy corridor plan.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we\u2019re going to build a stronger Canada, that means getting energy and natural resource projects built now, without further delay,\u201d said Paul de Jong, PCA president and CEO. \u201cMore of the same old thinking will continue to delay jobs, investment and growth. Canada truly requires a much different approach, if it\u2019s going to reinvent a resilient and \u2018tariff resistant\u2019 economy.\u201d<\/p>\n The ICBA was actively involved in the fight against Bill C-69 and advocated for responsible resource development.<\/p>\n \u201cSince the Trudeau Liberals passed Bill C-69 six years ago, only one energy project, Cedar LNG near Kitimat, B.C., has survived the new framework,\u201d said Mike Martens, ICBA Alberta president. \u201cCarney\u2019s refusal to repeal it means continued paralysis for billions of dollars in potential investment and the thousands of jobs those projects would create. We can\u2019t build if we don\u2019t approve projects, and construction workers don\u2019t cash paycheques if we aren\u2019t building anything.\u201d<\/p>\n Carney has stated throughout his election campaign and on his website <\/a>that his government would \u201cuse all its powers, policy instruments and fiscal capacity to speed the construction of major projects in the national interest.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n