May calls out Carney's sprint to push major projects bill through Commons

Kyle Duggan · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Jun 16, 2025 2:32 PM EDT | Last Updated: 22 minutes ago

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May said the thrust by Prime Minister Mark Carney's authorities to unreserved its large projects measure done Parliament this week represents a "new low" successful authorities contempt for Parliament.

Speaking astatine a quality league Monday morning, May said she hasn't seen thing similar it since the Conservative authorities nether Stephen Harper pushed an omnibus measure done much than a decennary ago.

May said she was "shocked erstwhile Stephen Harper successful outpouring of 2012 brought successful an omnibus bill, Bill C-38, that was 400 pages agelong and destroyed 70 biology laws, and it was fast-tracked."

"This is worse," she said. "It appears to maine — and it remains to beryllium seen — that Mr. Carney's caller bulk conjugation is Liberal-Conservative, delivering [Conservative Leader] Pierre Poilievre's policies with a much affable face."

May made her comments astatine a quality league extracurricular the House of Commons foyer Monday greeting alongside First Nations leaders, NDP MP Gord Johns and lawyers from biology groups — each of whom raised concerns astir the authorities and the gait astatine which it's sprinting done the Commons.

WATCH | Sen. Prosper says Bill C-5 is moving excessively quickly:

The Liberals passed a closure question Monday greeting to velocity done survey and statement of Bill C-5 by week's extremity — but not earlier aggregate absorption MPs excoriated the authorities during statement for moving truthful fast.

Government House person Steven MacKinnon defended the bill's timeline, arguing that the authorities has nationalist buy-in since the measure delivers connected large run promises from the caller election.

"We conscionable had the eventual antiauthoritarian test, and you cognize what we heard?" helium said. "Get this state moving. We request a effect to the threats coming from down south."

The measure is present acceptable for an unusually accelerated one-day survey by the House transport committee Wednesday day and evening. The authorities expects to walk the measure by the extremity of Friday.

At the quality conference, Sen. Paul Prosper said helium plans to effort to dilatory down the measure successful the Senate with an amendment.

He warned that if the measure is not cautiously reviewed, it volition rapidly pb to litigation.

The authorities would springiness the national furniture the quality to acceptable speech assorted statutes to propulsion guardant approvals for a tiny fig of large concern products, specified arsenic mines, pipelines and ports, if the authorities deems them to beryllium successful the nationalist interest.

It aims to velocity up the support process for large projects truthful that furniture tin render a determination successful 2 years astatine the most.

Critics question bill's constitutionality  

Some critics pass the projected instrumentality would let Ottawa to flout its law work to consult with First Nations nether Section 35 of the Constitution.

But immoderate law experts told The Canadian Press that the legislation's astir far-reaching provisions — the ones that would let the enforcement subdivision to skirt laws to propulsion guardant large projects — are apt to past a tribunal challenge.

Paul Daly, seat successful administrative instrumentality and governance astatine University of Ottawa, said that portion the provisions giving the enforcement much powerfulness are controversial, they're apt constitutional.

"It is improbable that a tribunal would invalidate this arsenic violating the Constitution," helium said.

Sections 21 to 23 of the measure let the enforcement subdivision to bypass existing rules and processes successful 13 laws — including the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, the Indian Act and the Impact Assessment Law — done a regulatory process that does not request to beryllium approved by Parliament.

These sections are what's known successful the ineligible assemblage arsenic "Henry VIII clauses" — a notation to a king who preferred to govern by decree alternatively than done Parliament.

Courts haven't recovered these to beryllium constitutionally invalid, Daly said, adding determination are guardrails successful the authorities and Charter rights volition proceed to apply.

"It's akin successful quality to the c taxation authorities from a fewer years ago, wherever the Supreme Court said the Henry VIII clause was constitutionally valid. And I fishy that a court, if this statute were challenged, would travel to the aforesaid conclusion," Daly said.

But Anna Johnston, a unit lawyer astatine West Coast Environmental Law, said sections 22 and 23 are "very worrisome" due to the fact that they could let the national furniture to exempt a pipeline oregon immoderate different task from the Species astatine Risk Act.

She said the measure wide gives the national authorities excessively overmuch leeway connected the Crown's work to consult with Indigenous radical connected decisions that impact them.

"If I were Canada's lawyers, I would person advised them strenuously against this bill," she told The Canadian Press.

"That consultation has to beryllium meaningful and I interest that, particularly nether the timelines that this authorities wants to marque these decisions, that this measure is fundamentally circumventing the government's constitutionally required work to consult."

Carney said successful June that it takes excessively agelong to propulsion large caller projects done "arduous" support processes and that successful "recent decades, it has go excessively hard to physique caller projects successful this country."

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet has warned that the authorities indispensable beryllium studied thoroughly since it tin suspend assorted laws and regulations relating to language, First Nations rights, the situation and threatened species.

"The authorities seems to privation to debar scrutiny connected the bill, which by itself is worrisome," helium told reporters successful English connected Friday.

NDP MPs Leah Gazan, Alexandre Boulerice and Lori Idlout wrote to MacKinnon past week to formally petition that the bill's survey beryllium slowed down to supply for much statement successful the House.

The national Conservatives person claimed the measure does not spell acold capable and privation to spot the Impact Assessment Act repealed.