Overview

• The government allotted only two days for committee hearings on Bill C-5 and invited a single Indigenous witness after last-minute lobbying by Assembly of First Nations national chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak.
• Bill C-5 empowers cabinet to fast-track approvals for major projects and override statutes like the Indian Act and Species at Risk Act through sweeping regulatory clauses.
• Green Party leader Elizabeth May and Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith condemned the accelerated schedule and closure motion, arguing it undermines parliamentary oversight and democratic participation.
• Constitutional experts such as University of Ottawa’s Paul Daly contend that the bill’s executive-branch powers are controversial but likely to withstand court challenges.
• Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler cautioned of a “long, hot summer” of protests and blockades if Indigenous rights concerns remain unaddressed.