Government Bill Fast-Tracking Projects Passes First Vote in House

The Liberal government’s Bill C-39, which would give it more powers to fast-track projects deemed in the “national interest,” will be studied by a special committee after clearing its first vote in the House of Commons.

The bill, the Building Canada Strong Act, passed the initial vote on Oct. 8 with 296 votes in favour and 26 votes against. The Conservatives voted in favour of it, while the Bloc Québécois, New Democrats, and Green Party’s Elizabeth May voted against it.

The bill needs to be voted on again in the House of Commons after committee deliberations and approved by the Senate before it can become law.

Internal Trade and One Canadian Economy Minister Dominic LeBlanc previously said that through the Building Canada Strong Act, the government would be applying the approach used by its Major Projects Office to projects of all sizes.

LeBlanc told reporters on Sept. 21 that the new process would establish clearer federal review timelines, reduce delays and duplication, and coordinate permitting and assessment processes, leading to projects being reviewed and having a decision made within one year.

Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon said the legislation would establish a Transportation Projects Office to coordinate federal permitting processes and help move priority projects forward within one year. He said it would also formally designate strategic trade corridors and identify ways to eliminate bottlenecks.

Minister of Jobs and Families Patty Hajdu had said the bill would make changes to Canada’s federal labour system, by expanding mediation tools and facilitating earlier intervention when disputes could have significant consequences for the economy.

The government says the legislation would also establish clearer rules around Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code, which allows the labour minister to intervene in certain disputes, by requiring them to explain why arbitration or another dispute-resolution mechanism is necessary.

Prior to the House of Commons vote on Bill C-39, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre told reporters on Oct. 8 that Liberals had put forth a “weak, watered-down, long-delayed bill that will do very little on its own,” but that the party would bring forward amendments to improve it.

“We will bring forward amendments to the bill at committee that will unblock our resources, save you money and jobs, and will also protect the rights of workers. We will be putting forward amendments to protect workers, their jobs, their rights, and the working class people who build this country,” Poilievre said.

Poilievre said the Conservatives’ amendments would limit the government’s delay of any project to six months and a maximum of a year, “with no exceptions.” The Tory leader also said the party had been consulting with labour leaders and workers, and they wanted “make sure that the working class people benefit” from the legislation.

NDP Leader Avi Lewis had told reporters earlier in the day that the bill should be “scrapped” because he said it threatened Canadians’ right to strike, while failing to uphold the government’s constitutional duty to consult indigenous communities on projects in their territory and get full consent.

Lewis said the government should fast-track “the major projects we actually need,” such as more affordable housing, renewable energy, and “public ownership for groceries and internet providers, not oil pipelines.”