Overview

• Introduced on June 6, Bill C-5 enacts the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act along with the Building Canada Act to recognize provincial rules as federal standards and remove internal trade barriers.
• The legislation establishes a federal major projects office tasked with coordinating reviews and cutting approval timelines for energy and infrastructure undertakings from five years to two.
• Cabinet will designate projects in the “national interest” based on factors such as economic benefit, Indigenous participation, climate impact and national security to grant them conditional upfront approval.
• The Assembly of First Nations and environmental groups warn that the fast-track process could undermine treaty consultation obligations and weaken environmental protections.
• Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre signals potential support for the bill while criticizing it as too limited compared with calls for a broader regulatory overhaul.