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OTTAWA \u2014 Running roughshod over the environment. Spawning the next Idle No More movement. Picking economic winners and losers.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Mark Carney\u2019s Building Canada Act is anything if not a magnet for criticism.<\/p>\n
The Liberal government\u2019s controversial legislation that would let cabinet quickly grant federal approvals for big industrial projects like mines, ports and pipelines sailed through committee in the early hours of Thursday.<\/p>\n
A House of Commons panel sat from Wednesday afternoon to after midnight reviewing Bill C-5 in a hurried study, as the Liberal government seeks to pass it through the chamber by week\u2019s end.<\/p>\n
Indigenous and environmental groups, along with opposition MPs 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe process that led to Bill C-5 is a case study in how not to engage with Indigenous nations,\u201d said Kebaowek First Nation Chief Lance Haymond, adding there was no \u201cmeaningful engagement\u201d or a \u201crecognition of the complexity of our rights, titles and interests.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe conditions for an Idle No More 2.0 uprising are being written into the law as we speak,\u201d he told the House of Commons transport committee late Wednesday night.<\/p>\n
The legislation enjoys support from the business community and building trades, who testified to parliament that it can take longer to get projects approved than to get them built.<\/p>\n
Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc appeared at the hearings to defend the bill, warning Canada is weathering a \u201cstorm of change\u201d amid U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s punishing trade war and that the country needs to quickly bolster the economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cCanadians have entrusted us to do things differently and better and move nation-building projects forward,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The bill is two pieces of legislation rolled into one, with the first part aimed at breaking down internal trade barriers \u2013 something Carney promised to achieve by Canada Day.<\/p>\n
The second part grants the government the ability to designate major projects to be in the \u201cnational interest,\u201d then fast-track their approval.<\/p>\n
Thanks to help from the Conservatives, who won a handful of amendments to the bill, the Liberal legislation appears on track to clear the Commons at a brisk pace.<\/p>\n
Even still, the Tories and the Bloc Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois raised concerns that it consolidates too much power in the hands of the prime minister and his cabinet.<\/p>\n
In a series of testy exchanges with LeBlanc, Bloc Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois MP Xavier Barsalou-Duval said there\u2019s no guarantee that the minister in charge of the new process will act in the best interests of the public by granting itself far-reaching powers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we have at the end of the day is a series of decisions that will be made behind closed doors \u2026 and nothing guarantees that you won\u2019t transform yourself into the minister of cronyism,\u201d he said in French.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do not agree that this bill opens the door to corruption,\u201d LeBlanc said in French.<\/p>\n
As some MPs trotted out comparisons to the Emergencies Act, LeBlanc balked at the idea and added that it\u2019s not comparable to a \u201cWhite House presidential order,\u201d either.<\/p>\n
Conservative MP Philip Lawrence pressed LeBlanc on whether there are sufficient ethics screens in place.<\/p>\n
He noted that Carney previously chaired Brookfield, which has a hand in infrastructure and construction, reviving conflict of interest concerns about Carney\u2019s past ties to the firm that the party brought up constantly throughout the recent election.<\/p>\n
LeBlanc said elected officials would continue to be bound by current ethics rules.<\/p>\n
Critics lined up on Wednesday to warn one after another that the bill could pose a threat to species at risk and allow Ottawa to sidestep its duty to consult with Indigenous Peoples.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last thing we want to do is hold up industry and projects with court cases, and this is exactly where it\u2019s headed,\u201d Trevor Mercredi, grand chief of the Treaty 8 First Nations of Alberta, told the Commons committee.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe say go back to the drawing board,\u201d Charles Hatt, climate program director with Ecojustice, said at a press conference.<\/p>\n
Anna Johnston, a lawyer with West Coast Environmental Law, said the bill throws the principle of informed decision-making \u201cout the window.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAllowing cabinet to decide whether projects proceed before reviewing them is like building a house and then calling an engineer to ask if it\u2019s safe,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Liberal MP Marcus Powlowski said he understands the concerns raised by Indigenous and environmental groups but believes the government needs to act quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre we going to continue to put this on hold, to tinker with it and make slight amendments? I think it\u2019s important we pass this legislation and there\u2019s always an opportunity afterwards to amend it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Heather Exner-Pirot of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute think tank warned the bill lets political Ottawa pick winners and losers and is \u201crife with potential for abuse,\u201d but she said she does not oppose it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She said at the hearings that the Canadian economy needs to be turned around at a critical moment, and this should be the start of broader reforms to spur investment.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat good is a pipeline if the emissions cap means you can\u2019t fill it? What good is a railway if the Impact Assessment Act means you can\u2019t mine products to ship on it?\u201d<\/p>\n
The House is scheduled to sit until Friday, and a Senate programming motion has the upper chamber wrapping up its examination of Bill C-5 by June 27.<\/p>\n
\u00a92025 The Canadian Press<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n