OTTAWA/TRADITIONAL, UNCEDED TERRITORY OF THE ALGONQUIN ANISHNAABEG PEOPLE — At a press conference in front of the Senate, civil society and environmental leaders called out Bill C-5 and the government’s reckless plan to bypass parliamentary due process and sideline Indigenous rights and democratic principles.
“The Building Canada Act ignores hard-won laws that keep people and the environment safe,” said Alex Cool-Fergus, National Policy Manager at Climate Action Network Canada. “This bill is being rammed through Parliament in a matter of days, with barely any time for debate, over clear concerns raised by Indigenous leaders and civil society. If that’s any indication of how these major projects will proceed, we should all be very worried.”
Dr. Sehjal Bhargava, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, said: “In medicine, we say slow is smooth and smooth is fast, meaning well-planned action leads to better outcomes. This Bill is the opposite of that. It plows over well-established legal processes to overturn regulations that I trust to protect my patients in ways that I cannot as a family doctor. Health protections, such as those embedded in the Environmental Assessment Process as well as in recent amendments to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), were hard-fought wins supported by countless people and civil society organizations in Canada that we cannot afford to lose.
“Trust that I want to build quickly too — for the health of my patients and their growing families. I see the urgency. But the urgency we feel needs to be translated into an urgency to protect our future by protecting the planet and health. This bill does the opposite.”
Charles Hatt, program director – climate, Ecojustice, said: “The Building Canada Act (BCA) gives Cabinet unnecessary sweeping, unilateral power that lets it decide whether and how federal law applies to its handpicked national interest projects —even if science warns of catastrophic consequences and irreversible harm.
“What this will mean in practice is that the BCA will require the federal government to approve any “national interest” projects even if the evidence shows the project would kill the last remaining member of a species. At a time of climate emergency and biodiversity collapse, Canadians expect better. We urge government to work with groups like Ecojustice and other environmental law experts and consult with Indigenous peoples meaningfully on a legislative approach that enables a strong, free and sustainable future without sacrificing environmental protections, Indigenous rights or eroding foundational democratic principles.”
Louis Couillard, climate campaigner, Greenpeace Canada, said: “This bill needs to go back to the drawing board, because as currently written, it will accelerate conflict rather than climate solutions. I can assure you, on behalf of environmental groups in Quebec, that if you think you can ride roughshod over us with new pipelines, you won’t get away with it.”
Anna Johnston, Staff Lawyer, West Coast Environmental Law, said: “Allowing Cabinet to decide whether projects proceed before reviewing them is like building a house and then calling an engineer to ask if it’s safe. This bill lets Cabinet put people and the planet at risk with no knowledge of the consequences. Let’s send it back to the drawing board and deliver Canadians a law that works for us, climate and the environment.”
Sarah Laframboise, Executive Director, Evidence for Democracy, said: “Bill C-5 undermines the role of scientific review and meaningful public participation. We understand the urgency to build. But how we build matters. Canada cannot afford to treat science, consultation, and evidence as red tape. These are the very tools that protect our health, our environment, and our democracy.
“Meeting the challenges of today and tomorrow demands decisions grounded in rigorous evidence, transparent processes, and inclusive public engagement. Our laws must be more than just fast — they must be fair, informed, and accountable.”
The Building Canada Act (BCA) would fast-track designated “national interest” projects by giving them up-front approval and pushing them through a shortened federal review process, one that could allow environmental harms that would normally not be permitted under federal laws. Despite the unnecessary “Henry the VIII” sweeping powers that the BCA gives Cabinet and the serious threat it poses to environmental protection, the government has only dedicated two days to study the bill. The alarming approach to rush this bill through the Senate and parliamentary process without proper scrutiny or debate weakens democracy and undermines public participation.
Today’s press conference followed a rally yesterday on Parliament Hill, organized by the Chiefs of Ontario, against the threats to Indigenous rights posed by the BCA.
In a matter of days, nearly 15,000 Canadians have written to Senators and their MPs calling on them to stand up for environmental responsibility and democratic values by voting to scrutinize and overhaul the BCA. Ecojustice Canada and other environmental organizations have submitted a list of priority amendments to Parliament.
