Senate under pressure to pass Carney's major projects bill quickly
Prime Minister Mark Carney 's controversial major projects bill could be in for a speedy trip through the Senate this week.
Bill C-5 will be introduced at first reading in the upper chamber today after it was fast-tracked through the House of Commons and underwent a rare pre-study by the Senate.
A programming motion adopted by the chamber fixes the bill to a strict schedule, with a final vote that must take place by the end of Friday.
The politically charged legislation has upset Indigenous and environmental groups who criticize the government for rushing to grant itself sweeping new powers to fast-track project permits.
But Carney has said Canada is facing an economic crisis due to the trade war with the US and the country urgently needs to approve new "nation-building" projects.
The bill found broad support in the Commons, where the Conservatives voted with the Liberals to pass it at third reading 306 votes to 31 last week, with one Liberal MP voting against it.
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Toronto Sun
26 minutes ago
- Toronto Sun
GUNTER: No public safety benefit from Liberals' plan to confiscate 'assault-style' firearms
They could just let the whole scheme expire and save themselves and law-abiding gun owners a lot of time and expense. Jim Osadczuk, owner of a gun shop named Sebarms Guns and Gear, holds an AR-15 variant rifle at his shop in Edmonton on May 2, 2020. Photo by Larry Wong / Postmedia, file During his campaign to become Liberal leader and again during the federal election, Mark Carney promised to follow through with his party's five-year-old plan to confiscate 'assault-style' firearms from law-abiding Canadians. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account This is yet another way the Carney government is very much like the Trudeau government. Below I'll get into the insanity of a government thinking it can stop criminals from using firearms illegally by forcing non-criminals to give up their legal property. This is the logical equivalent of forcing all non-drinking Canadians to surrender their cars to the government because drunk drivers are causing death and mayhem on our roads. But apart from the intellectual fallacies of confiscation, there is a practical problem looming for the gun-loathing Liberals. Their confiscation program is set to end on Oct. 31 and they haven't collected a single firearm from a private citizen. They claim to have taken 12,000 from the inventories of gun shops at a cost of about $70 million, but not one from an individual. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. More importantly, they have no idea of how they will collect 200,000 or more guns in the time remaining. They could just let the whole scheme expire and save themselves and law-abiding gun owners a lot of time and expense that isn't going to make Canada one whit safer. But they're Liberals. So of course they're going to extend their confiscation deadline. Whatever new deadline they choose will be their fourth (April 2022, October 2023, October 2025 and whenever). The fact they have had more than five years since they announced this 'assault weapons' ban and they still have been unable to come up with a method for seizing Canadians' property and compensating those who will lose their guns, is probably a sign of just how futile this whole exercise is. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The parliamentary budget officer estimates completing the confiscation will cost more than $700 million more. And the truth of the matter is all that money and all that anguish on the part of hunters, sport shooters and farmers will lead to no safer streets. Think of it this way: Police estimate that upwards of 90 per cent of guns used in crimes in Canada are brought in illegally from the U.S. That means even if the 200,000 scary-looking guns are grabbed by the Liberals, the guns used most often to commit violent crimes will still be on our streets. Scads of taxpayer money will be spent and no public good will be achieved. Also consider the illogic of it. Criminals with guns are the problem – people who are prepared to break laws against murdering, robbing, assaulting and so on. Yet somehow, Liberal politicians and bureaucrats have convinced themselves that when the government makes it illegal to own 'assault-style weapons,' dangerous criminals will suddenly turn into law-abiding rule followers. It's ridiculous. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. I expect the Liberals will extend their current deadline by cabinet decree over the summer while Parliament isn't sitting. When they do, keep three things in mind. First, the Nova Scotia shooter, Gabriel Wortman, did not acquire his weapons legally. Even if the Liberals' ban had been in place before he killed 22 people, he still would have had his guns. No one would have been saved. Second, despite calling them 'assault-style,' none of the banned guns are machineguns. Those have been illegal in Canada for decades. And third, there are lots of rifles and shotguns that have exactly the same firepower are the banned models. In many cases, they are the same gun with different appearances. The banned ones are no more deadly, they just have cladding, paint jobs or metal finishes that make them look more militaristic. In short, the Liberals are judging guns by their superficial appearances, not their lethality. Talk about books and their covers. lgunter@ Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don't miss the news you need to know — add and to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters . You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun Toronto & GTA NHL Toronto Maple Leafs Toronto & GTA MLB
Winnipeg Free Press
40 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
CDC nominee Susan Monarez sidesteps questions about disagreements with RFK in Senate hearing
Susan Monarez, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told senators Wednesday that she values vaccines, public health interventions and rigorous scientific evidence, but largely sidestepped questions about widespread cuts to the agency, elimination of programs and whether she disagreed with any of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s actions to date. 'The secretary is doing the important work of leading a complex agency,' Monarez told members of a Senate health committee that will decide whether to advance her nomination. Monarez, 50, is the first nominee for CDC director to require Senate confirmation. She was named acting director in January and the nominee for the post in March after Trump abruptly withdrew his first choice, David Weldon. Monarez is the former director of a federal biomedical research agency and a respected scientist, though she would be the first nonphysician to lead the CDC in decades. Monarez repeatedly said she had not been involved in decisions earlier this year to cut hundreds of staff and eliminate CDC programs, but that she would work to retain the agency's core functions and transition key programs to other parts of the Health and Human Services department. Her answers appeared to frustrate some senators, including Virginia Democrat Tim Kaine, who said he had no questions about her qualifications. 'I've got questions about your willingness to follow through on your values,' he said. In the two-hour hearing, Monarez was sharply questioned about Kennedy's recent move to fire all 17 members of a crucial committee that evaluates and recommends vaccines, his downplaying of the risks of measles during a nationwide outbreak and staffing cuts to a program that investigates lead poisoning in children. Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican who is chairman of the committee, sought assurances about the scientific integrity of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which was reconstituted by Kennedy to include vaccine skeptics. 'Someone can speak as a critic, but there should be someone who's reviewing the overwhelming evidence of the safety of vaccines,' Cassidy said. Monarez said she strongly supported public health interventions, including immunizations, saying, 'I think vaccines save lives.' 'The ACIP has a very vital role to play,' she added. 'And it must make sure that it is using science and evidence to drive that decision-making.' She vowed to prioritize innovation, 'evidence-based rapid decision-making' and clear communication at the $9.2 billion agency tasked with evaluating vaccines, monitoring diseases and watching for threats to Americans' health. Monarez declined to say whether she had disagreed with any of Kennedy's decisions regarding the agency to date, saying he has 'laid out a very clear vision.' 'I think he has prioritized key public health activities for preventing chronic diseases,' she added. If Monarez is confirmed, it would end a stretch of confusion at the Atlanta-based CDC, where, for months, it wasn't clear who was running the agency. The acting director's role was filled in part by Matthew Buzzelli, the CDC's chief of staff who is a lawyer and political appointee with no medical experience. Monarez holds doctorate in microbiology and immunology from the University of Wisconsin, and her postdoctoral training was in microbiology and immunology at Stanford University. At CDC headquarters in Atlanta, employees have said Monarez was rarely heard from between late January and late March, when Trump nominated her. The CDC was created nearly 80 years ago to prevent the spread of malaria in the U.S. Its mission was later expanded, and it gradually became a global leader on infectious and chronic diseases and a go-to source of health information. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Winnipeg Free Press
40 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Enbridge says it would pitch new Alberta-B.C. pipeline only under right conditions
CALGARY – Canada's biggest crude oil shipper says a lot needs to happen before it would propose a new pipeline to the West Coast. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has said she wants to see a pipeline running from her province to the Port of Prince Rupert, B.C., so that more oilsands crude can be exported to Asia by tanker. She told a news conference Tuesday that the province has been in 'active conversations' with pipeline companies and is 'pretty close' to having a one or more come forward with a plan. Smith has said the West Coast pipeline she envisions would test the Liberal federal government's new process to review projects deemed in the national interest within two years. Enbridge Inc., which has a massive pipeline network spanning Canada and the United States, says it will always assess market-diversifying projects, provided there is a demand from the producers it serves. It says in a statement that any new project would require careful consideration and real provincial and federal legislative change around carbon policies, regulatory timelines and Indigenous participation. 'We will be there to build what is needed for our shippers, for Alberta and for Canada — that's our job, our mission as a company — but only when the conditions make sense and the right framework is in place,' Enbridge said. The CEO of federally owned pipeline operator Trans Mountain Corp. told reporters earlier this month that his company is among those Smith has spoken to about spearheading a new pipeline. But Mark Maki said 'optimizing the existing kit' is a priority over building something new for now. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. Trans Mountain flows to the B.C. Lower Mainland is currently the only way Alberta producers can meaningfully access Asia-Pacific markets. South Bow Corp., which operates the Keystone pipeline connecting Alberta crude to refineries in the U.S. Midwest and Gulf Coast, said in a statement it appreciates provincial and federal recognition of the need for increased pipeline capacity. 'South Bow carefully evaluates all opportunities, especially those that complement our current assets and strengthen our existing corridor.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2025. Companies in this story: (TSX: ENB) (TSX: SOBO)
