By fast-tracking “national interest” projects, the government risks silencing communities, sidelining science, and undermining the law.
OTTAWA/TRADITIONAL, UNCEDED TERRITORY OF THE ALGONQUIN ANISHNAABEG PEOPLE — Ecojustice says Bill C-5 is part of a disturbing trend that weakens democracy and sidelines Parliament. Rushing big projects without following key environmental laws as they were meant to work puts nature, wildlife, and communities at serious risk.
The Building Canada Act fast-tracks 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.
Like Ontario’s recent Bill 5, the federal Bill C-5 also provides sweeping power for the Prime Minister and his cabinet to exempt major projects from Canada’s most important federal health, safety, and environmental laws. The government’s shortened timeframe skips the question of “if” a project should proceed, straight to “how” it will for the government’s hand-selected list of projects. Prime Minister Carney spoke of a “robust” public process to decide whether projects will be listed under the law, but the bill does not require any such process.
The government promises that projects will only be designated following consultation with affected Indigenous Peoples. But the bill does not make any commitment to seeking their free, prior, and informed consent as required under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It remains unclear what consultation will look like and what could happen if Indigenous Peoples’ rights are impacted or if they do not provide consent for a “nation-building” project moving forward.
Ecojustice’s Charlie Hatt, Program Director – Climate, made the following statement in reaction to Bill C-5:
“Ecojustice is deeply troubled that the federal government seems to be following the lead of several provinces and using the need for economic independence as an excuse to undermine robust environmental protection and meaningful consultation with First Nations.
“The newly tabled Bill C-5 will give the government extraordinary powers once it has designated a project as in the “national interest”, including the ability to authorize it despite potential negative environmental impacts – on species, ecosystems, and communities – that would not otherwise be permitted.
“On top of the compressed process set out in Bill C-5, it also gives the Governor in Council the ability to fully exempt a national interest project from the application of any federal law. We’ve never seen a federal law that gives this much unchecked executive power before in the history of modern Canadian environmental law.
“What the government may or may not consider as a “national interest” project also seems unclear. The Building Canada Act’s lack of required criteria and a public process for deciding whether projects are in the national interest risks incentivizing backroom politicking and closed-door negotiating with powerful corporations.
“While the government is so focused on speeding up the process, it seems to have underestimated the possibility that without the checks and balances of robust environmental review and meaningful consultation with Indigenous peoples, it could be leaving the door open to increased litigation and stalled projects — costs that will be passed back down to Canadian taxpayers.
“Ecojustice is committed to ensuring governments, at every level, are doing their part to take strong action on climate change, and protect all communities and the ecosystems that sustain us.”
Our analysis
Read Ecojustice’s quick analysis of Bill C-5 here.
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Ecojustice uses the power of the law to defend nature, combat climate change, and fight for a healthy environment. Its strategic, public interest lawsuits and advocacy lead to precedent-setting court decisions and law and policy that deliver lasting solutions to Canada’s most urgent environmental problems. As Canada’s largest environmental law charity, Ecojustice operates offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, and Halifax.
