OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney’s minister of intergovernmental affairs is defending the “nation-building” trade barrier and major projects bill, and the Liberals’ efforts to expedite its passage by Canada Day, amid objections.
“We hope this legislation can be adopted expeditiously,” Intergovernmental Affairs and One Canadian Economy Minister Dominic LeBlanc told senators Tuesday.
LeBlanc — sponsor of Bill C-5, which the Liberals have coined the “One Canadian Economy” bill — was testifying as part of a Senate-wide pre-study of the legislation. Pre-studies are a way for senators to begin considering legislation before the bill is formally passed in the House, and are often used when there’s an intention to pass policy quickly.
This comes as MPs agreed by a vote of 305 to 30 on Monday to pass a government motion to expedite the legislation’s passage, putting Bill C-5 on a course towards clearing the House of Commons by the end of the week.
The Conservatives voted in favour while the Liberals’ typical dance partners from the last minority Parliament — the Bloc Quebecois, New Democrats and Greens — voted against.
As a result of the motion passing, the House Transport, Infrastructure and Communities Committee will sit for a few hours on Tuesday and then potentially burn the midnight oil on Wednesday to complete the study and clause-by-clause of the bill.
Then, MPs will have a limited window for debate at report stage and third reading, with the motion stating the House cannot adjourn on Friday until Bill C-5 passes into the Senate.
“I think the prime minister and our government made a compelling case to Canadians that this particular piece of legislation was what the moment required,” LeBlanc told senators, citing the Liberals’ campaign commitment.
During the 2025 federal election, as part of his pitch to Canadians as the best placed leader to take on U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war, Carney repeatedly pledged to eliminate interprovincial trade barriers by Canada Day, while his platform promised to table the necessary legislation by July 1.
“We believe that this legislation is urgent,” LeBlanc said, responding to a question from Sen. Pamela Wallin on why the government feels it’s necessary to apply such “time pressures” on both chambers.
What is contentious about Bill C-5?
Bill C-5, formally titled “An Act to enact the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act and the Building Canada Act” spans fewer than 20 pages.
It proposes to recognize provincial regulations with the aim of making it easier to improve the mobility of goods and services, as well as labour. It also seeks to speed up the development of major projects deemed to be in the national interest.
- Read more: Carney gov’t tables bill to reduce interprovincial trade barriers, build national projects
It’s the provisions proposing to grant cabinet new powers, with the intention of centralizing approvals for new natural resource projects that are being heavily criticized as undermining Indigenous rights and environmental protections. There’s widespread concern among opponents that if Bill C-5 becomes law, projects could be greenlit without adequate consultation.
Sparking further ire is the Liberal push to condense the debate on and study of the legislation. When the bill was unveiled — just two weeks before MPs’ scheduled summer break — Carney said: “if Parliament needs to sit longer, it should sit longer in order to get it passed.”
‘A lot of broken trust over the years’
Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Rebecca Alty testified alongside LeBlanc on Tuesday. She was pressed to respond to testimony senators heard the day prior from Indigenous leaders who want to see the process slowed down.
They included Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami President Natan Obed, who implored senators to “take additional time to consider this legislation.”
“Considering the serious consequences of hastily passing this legislation through Parliament, a more nuanced, considerate approach would allow Canada to develop clear pathways to advance nation-building projects,” Obed said.
Asked to address the concerns about upholding the rights of Indigenous peoples, Alty asserted that the bill will not infringe on existing obligations.
She then went on to suggest that projects facing resistance from First Nations would be less likely to be approved under the proposed new system.
“Projects that don’t have Indigenous support aren’t going to urgently advance. We’re looking for projects that can get going,” she said on Tuesday. “I can appreciate where people are coming [from] because to say, ‘Trust us, here’s the legislation,’ there’s been a lot of broken trust over the years,” Alty said. “And from that… we know that failing to uphold our legal responsibilities stop projects, delay projects, and we’re looking to advance projects.”
As this testimony was happening in the Senate, the Chiefs of Ontario joined NDP MPs Leah Gazan and Lori Idlout on Parliament Hill, to raise further concerns about the tight timelines allowed to scrutinize the implications of the bill.
Though, given the New Democrats no longer have official party status in the House of Commons, their ability to intervene and advance amendments in the days ahead will be limited.
‘What is happening… is scandalous’
During House debate before Monday’s vote, New Democrat and Bloc Quebecois MPs made their opposition to the fast-tracking of Bill C-5 clear, as did Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, and Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith, who just months ago held a cabinet position.
“Under the guise of responding to the threat posed by Trump, we are sacrificing other important values. We are not thinking about unintended consequences, and we are actively undermining our parliamentary democracy,” Erskine-Smith said.
“The federal government is proposing to shut down democratic debate, curtail committee scrutiny and jam the bill through,” he said. “It would all actually make [former Conservative prime minister Stephen] Harper blush.”
NDP MP Heather McPherson said she agrees with the objectives of the bill, but slammed Carney for proposing a “power grab.”
“I support building infrastructure that will serve generations to come. However, we cannot and we must not trade away workers’ protections, transparency, accountability, environmental protections and Indigenous rights in the name of expediency,” McPherson said.
May said that her party supports “bringing down interprovincial barriers and building a one-Canada economy,” but not “with a bulldozer pushing it through Parliament,” comparing what Carney is doing to the legislative tactics the Liberals panned when Harper enacted them.
Bloc MPs accused the Official Opposition of now being part of a Liberal-Conservative coalition.
“What is happening right now is scandalous,” said Bloc Quebecois MP Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay.
“We will not have the opportunity to examine this bill properly, because this coalition is writing a blank cheque and completely disregarding the need to seriously study such a significant, profound and radical bill,” he said.
‘Have to set aside partisan divisions’
Transport and Internal Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland also spoke to senators about the bill on Monday. During her testimony, Freeland said that in the government’s view, Canada is in “a moment where we have to set aside partisan divisions.”
During an exchange with her, Senate Opposition Leader Sen. Leo Housakos confirmed that his caucus in the upper chamber wants to see the bill become law, an indication that before adjourning for the summer next week, Conservative senators will do what they can to pass Bill C-5.
“Obviously, the Conservative opposition in the House supports this bill, as does the opposition in this chamber,” he said.
“I truly see this, not as a partisan effort, but as a nation-building effort, and I’m delighted that we’re able to work on it together,” Freeland said in response.
The House of Commons is scheduled to adjourn for the summer this Friday, and the Senate is slated to rise by next Friday, June 27. Parliamentary business in both chambers would then be paused until September, barring an emergency recall.
