Bill C-5 on internal trade and major projects passed in House of Commons
OTTAWA — If you blinked, you might have missed it.
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s controversial major projects bill finished its dash through the House of Commons on Friday — the final day of the sitting before summer — with support from the Conservatives and not-so-quiet grumblings from the other opposition parties.
“Bill C-5, our government’s One Canadian Economy legislation, has just passed the House of Commons,” proudly announced Carney after the vote, late Friday afternoon, with many of him caucus members — including Indigenous MPs — behind him.
The legislation has two parts. The Act to enact the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada, which had support across party lines, aims to eliminate internal trade and labour mobility barriers in Canada. The Building Canada Act, which would give cabinet sweeping powers to approve natural resource and infrastructure projects deemed in the national interest, has raised considerably more concerns.
House Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia granted the NDP and the Bloc Québécois’ wish to split the final vote on Bill C-5 in the House to reflect those two parts.
The first part on internal trade received quasi unanimity — a result of 335-1 — with all parties voting in favour except Green Party Leader Elizabeth May. The second part on major projects was supported by the Liberals and the Conservatives, while the Bloc, the NDP, May and Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith voted against. The result was 306-31.
Erskine-Smith has previously voiced concerns about the major projects bill, saying the sweeping powers would have made former prime minister Stephen Harper “blush.”
Liberals erupted in cheers and threw bits of paper in the air after C-5 passed, and Carney made his way across the floor to shake hands with Conservatives.
C-5 will now be making its way to the Senate where it is expected to be adopted within a week, on Friday, June 27.
Business groups applauded the government for urgently introducing and adopting this legislation amid a trade war with the United States.
“The onus is now on the federal government to deliver — working with Canadians, Indigenous rights holders and the private sector. It’s time to build momentum in Canada and show the world we’re serious about growth, energy and getting big things done,” said the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Matthew Holmes.
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 Métis 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.
On Friday, Carney thanked the Liberal Indigenous caucus and the voices across the country for sharing their perspectives on the major projects legislation. He admitted there were “some learnings” for him through the entire process.
In order to hear directly from them about C-5, Carney said he will be hosting summits with First Nations, Inuit and Métis rights holders, leadership and experts in Ottawa this summer alongside with the responsible ministers. He said those meetings will include working sessions and public roundtables.
“We all agree that more fulsome conversations are needed to select the nation-building projects and to determine the conditions that they must fulfill. In other words, the real work begins now,” he said.
Prior to the final vote on C-5, opposition parties shared their disappointment and frustration that the bill was being rammed through the House.
“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 MP Xavier Barsalou-Duval during a speech.
“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 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.
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
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