House approves Bill C-5 to fast-track projects, Carney pledges summer consultations with Indigenous leaders

Globe and Mail

5 hours ago

The House of Commons approved the government's legislation to fast-track big projects Friday before breaking for summer, wrapping up a brief but hectic four-week sitting.
Prime Minister Mark Carney marked the event with an evening news conference alongside Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty and other MPs, where he vowed to address Indigenous concerns that the bill would allow Ottawa to override their rights.
Mr. Carney laid out a plan for formal summits with Indigenous leaders over the summer to work out the details of how the new project regime will work. He also acknowledged that his government could have done a better job of explaining how the process will ensure Indigenous rights are protected.
'Being a reliable partner to Indigenous peoples is not just about upholding the duty to consult. It's about enabling the creation of long-term wealth and prosperity for Indigenous peoples through full equity ownership,' he said.
Carney responds to Indigenous criticism of Bill C-5, says consultation is 'at the heart' of legislation
Bill C-5 contains a section that aims to eliminate federal barriers to interprovincial trade and a section that allows the government to list specific large projects as national priorities and then exempt them from various legal requirements to speed up approvals.
Mr. Carney said the plan was a central plank of the Liberal platform and pledged that it will be 'the most important economic initiative this country has seen for a long time.'
Ms. Gull-Masty, the first Indigenous person to serve as Indigenous Services Minister, said the bill lays out a plan to co-develop projects with Indigenous communities.
'Now the real work begins,' she said.
The House of Commons is not scheduled to resume sitting until Sept. 15.
But the Indigenous consultations on C-5 are just one of many policy files that will continue to play out over the summer.
Canada's 45th Parliament kicked off just a month after the April 28 federal election that returned the Liberals to power with another minority government, this time under Mr. Carney, the party's new leader.
Trade tensions with the United States dominated Canadian political debate during the election campaign and that has carried through the early days of the Carney government.
Chartrand on Bill C-5: 'We do have to have consent from Indigenous rights holders'
The Prime Minister and U.S. President Donald Trump set a 30-day deadline at this week's Group of Seven summit in Kananaskis, Alta., to reach a deal aimed at resolving trade issues between the two countries.
Mr. Carney leaves Sunday for Brussels and then The Hague for meetings of the Canada-European Union summit and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit.
In an interview Friday in Parliament's West Block, Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon said Canadians should not expect Mr. Carney's pace to slow down during the summer.
'I think that we have a Prime Minister who very much is going to be a 365-day-a-year leader of this country,' he said.
Further, he said the sheer number of outside issues that require attention, such as recent developments in the Middle East or wildfires across the country, means there is no slow period in government.
'The pace of events when one is in public life today is beyond dizzying,' he said.
In addition to negotiating defence issues with the Europeans and trade matters with Mr. Trump, Mr. Carney's pledge to release a 2025 budget shortly after Parliament resumes means the traditional prebudget lobbying and consultation will run through the summer.
Explainer: What federal Bill C-5, the One Canadian Economy Act, is all about
Mr. MacKinnon boasted that the Liberals accomplished a lot in a short period, listing the adoption of tax cuts, billions of dollars more for the military and the passing of Bill C-5.
In addition to C-5, the House of Commons adopted two bills related to approving government spending. However, other legislation related to border security and tax cuts did not get through the House. Both bills contain elements that are drawing strong criticism from privacy advocates.
The tax measures, including an income-tax cut and removing the federal fuel charge, can still go ahead, however, because they were approved in an earlier vote. The government treats tax changes as if they are in place once legislation has received an initial vote of support.
Bill C-5 is widely expected to be approved by the Senate next week.
Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer said Mr. Carney has not delivered on his campaign pledges to curb government spending, which is why his party voted against two spending bills this week.
'Maybe he gets some points for new rhetoric, but so far, it's pretty much the same Liberal approach on borrowing, spending, talking down our energy sector, refusing to commit to new big energy projects and defending the Liberal crime policies,' he said in an interview Friday.
'Nothing's off the table': AFN warns of potential legal action if Bill C-5 passes
The Conservatives supported C-5 and Mr. Scheer said the party will continue to vote in favour of measures if they involve lower taxes or improving the economy.
'If the government is serious about meeting those objectives, we work with them. And if they don't, then we oppose,' he said.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet predicted this week that when the Conservatives return in the fall, after party leader Pierre Poilievre is expected to regain a seat via a summer by-election, the party will be less likely to support the Liberals in the House.
'At a certain point, the Conservatives will return to being Conservatives,' he said at a news conference Wednesday, adding that the Liberals will then be more dependent on Bloc support.
NDP interim leader Don Davies said that the Liberals under Mr. Carney are adopting more conservative policies.
'So far, I think the empirical evidence from the Carney government is absolutely that they're a right of centre government,' he said in an interview Friday.
'I mean, the first three things that Mr. Carney did was he ripped three policies directly out of the Conservative playbook. He cancelled the carbon tax, he cancelled the capital-gains inclusion policy and he indicated he was going to cut public service jobs,' he said.
Having been reduced to just seven seats in the April election, the NDP no longer has party status and is not invited to the weekly meetings of House leaders that sets the parliamentary agenda.
Nonetheless, Mr. Davies said his party has been effective at securing amendments to government legislation and bringing public attention to issues such as wildfires in Western Canada.