(Unceded Anishinaabe Algonquin Territories – Ottawa) Environmental and civil society groups condemn Parliament’s reckless passage of Bill C-5’s controversial Building Canada Act. The Act erodes democratic principles, runs roughshod over Indigenous rights, shuts Canadians out of decisions that could affect them, and puts the environment at risk.

The speed at which the government has forced this Bill through Parliament left inadequate time for careful review, and led to significant backlash from Indigenous communities and organizations, environmental organizations, and the public. Bill C-5 will lead to further opposition and legal challenges, which will only further delay projects, contrary to the government’s goal of fast-tracking them. The government should repeal the Act and go back to the drawing board.

Amendments made in the House of Commons introduced requirements for greater transparency, including regarding the use of the “Henry VIII” clauses (which allow the government to circumvent existing laws, named after King Henry VIII of England). In failing to introduce further amendments to correct overreach and address the Bill’s many failings, the Senate neglected its role as the house of sober second thought. Bill C-5 and its implementation could result in unconstitutional actions and outcomes, undermine democratic principles, and facilitate executive overreach by threatening the separation of powers.

While Bill C-5 enables irresponsible and potentially unconstitutional major project decisions, there are measures that Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government can take to ensure that national interest projects are truly in the public interest. Without delay, the government should: 

• Work with Indigenous leaders, the public and civil society organizations to define “national interest” for the purposes of Bill C-5, and criteria that projects must meet in order to qualify;
• Engage the public in meaningful dialogue, and ensure the consent of Indigenous peoples and the provinces, before designating projects as “national interest projects”;
• Work with environmental experts and communities to identify ways to meaningfully engage the public in the reviews of national interest projects;
• Commit to not using any of the “Henry VIII” powers to exempt national interest projects from environmental, health, or other important federal laws;
• Establish a public registry of all information related to national interest projects; and
• Commit to prioritizing renewable energy, and to not include any fossil fuel projects among the list of designated “national interest projects.”

Now that Bill C-5 has been passed into law, we will be watching to see how the government implements it. Cabinet must prioritize truly nation-building projects, rather than renewing federal regulatory support for and investment in fossil fuel infrastructure projects.

The federal government needs to take action to deliver projects that will lead Canada to a sustainable, resilient, fair, and climate safe future. This means building a national electricity grid with robust interties connecting provinces and territories from coast-to-coast-to-coast, investing in high-speed rail across the country, helping our cities adapt to wildfires and flooding, and closing the infrastructure gap for Indigenous communities. 

Our organizations will remain vigilant and speak up loud and clear—at the mandatory reviews by the Parliamentary Review Committee and beyond—to ensure the government does not misuse this Act to the detriment of people and the environment.

Quotes

Charlie Hatt, Climate Director, Ecojustice:

“The Building Canada Act in Bill C-5 hands enormous and unjustified power to the Cabinet with precious few checks. Its combination of upfront approval and compressed project review threatens both the environment and Indigenous rights, while undermining crucial public participation. This rushed and poorly vetted law could tie our country’s future to fossil fuel industry mega projects that won’t protect us from the threat of Trump or help us face the growing dangers of climate change and the biodiversity crisis. We hope we’re wrong and that this legislation will help move us towards a prosperous and inclusive clean energy future. Economic pressures cannot justify risking constitutional obligations or informed, evidence-based decision-making and oversight. We call on the government to uphold its legal duties and work with Indigenous Peoples, environmental experts, and civil society to ensure decisions made under the Building Canada Act truly reflect the public interest.”

Isabel McMurray, National Policy Analyst, Climate Action Network Canada:

“Bill C-5 grants sweeping powers to Cabinet, ignores democratic principles of public participation, risks severe environmental harms, and tramples on the rights of Indigenous Peoples. This hastily drafted and poorly reviewed piece of legislation risks locking Canada into path dependency on unsustainable extractive industries rather than urging Canada forward into the energy transition. Bill C-5 is the federal government’s attempt to define nation-building projects, but entirely elides the question of who this nation is being built for and at what cost.”

Anna Johnston, Staff Lawyer, West Coast Environmental Law Association:

“Bill C-5 is an assault on science and democracy. For more than half a century, we have made decisions according to the basic principle that we should look before we leap. Bill C-5 throws that principle out the window. Economic uncertainty shouldn’t be used to shut the public out of decisions that affect them or run roughshod over Indigenous peoples’ rights, and science shouldn’t be sidelined in the interest of getting shovels in the ground. Our government needs to work with Indigenous Peoples, environmental experts and the public to make sure that all decisions about national interest projects uphold Indigenous rights and are truly in Canadians’ best interest.”

Theresa McClenaghan, Executive Director and Counsel, Canadian Environmental Law Association:

“Public input to the decision making of the federal government in choosing major projects is critically important.  Application of the federal environmental, health, and safety laws and their requirements is essential to ensure that any major projects truly contribute to the well being of Canadians and their environment over many decades to come, and do not add to the massive threats of toxic pollution, climate change, and degradation of the natural environment that all depend on.  Those who will suffer the most from the lack of application of these critical laws in decision making are inevitably those with the least power in the decision making halls of government.  Their voices must be heard before these project choices are made.”

Tim Gray, Executive Director, Environmental Defence:

“Bill C-5, like its cousin, Ontario’s Bill 5, takes us backward to a time when major developments went ahead without proper review, polluters filled our drinking water and air with toxins and the public were told to sit down and shut up about the impacts. This is not progress and the costs to the country could be catastrophic. Parliament passed laws to address threats to our health and the environment and they should never be bypassed without discussion and debate.”

Atiya Jaffar, Canada Campaigns Manager, 350.org:

“Bill C-5 hands unchecked power to Cabinet to bulldoze through projects that threaten our environment, democracy, and Indigenous rights without meaningful consultation or public input. This law opens the door for fossil fuel expansion under the guise of ‘nation-building,’ while sidelining science, community voices, and climate action. Canada cannot build a just and sustainable future by steamrolling over the foundations of accountability and Indigenous consent. We will hold the government accountable every step of the way.”

Shanaaz Gokool, Executive Director, Leadnow:

“Bill C-5 is a reckless and dangerous bill that puts polluters first and gives the federal government unchecked power to sidestep environmental protections, silence communities, and violate Indigenous rights. This so-called “Nation-Building Project” Bill has eroded public trust as it was rammed through Parliament at breakneck speed, bypassing democratic processes and silencing meaningful public input. The new Cabinet powers in C-5 threaten more of the same pattern of rushed and reckless behaviours. People in Canada want real solutions to the affordability and climate crisis — but Bill C-5 isn’t it. Instead, it is a blatant power grab that puts corporate polluters first and risks leaving democracy, communities, workers, and the environment behind.”

Cathy Orlando, Citizens’ Climate Lobby Canada:

“Claims of ‘decarbonized oil’ are fairy tales. Even oil industry allies admit carbon capture is too expensive to scale. Bill C-5 risks locking Canada into false solutions while weakening environmental laws and Indigenous rights. Real nation-building means investing in climate-safe infrastructure, not propping up fossil fuel fantasies.”

Keith Stewart, senior energy strategist, Greenpeace Canada:

“Mark Carney ran for Prime Minister as the banker who cared about climate change but with Bill C-5 he is governing like Stephen Harper on steroids. This law would replace the publicly-accessible environmental assessment process with backroom deals where the most expensive lobbyists have the biggest advantage. We will not consent to our lands becoming oil company playgrounds and call on Canadians to resist this anti-democratic move.”

Linda Nowlan, Acting Executive Director, David Suzuki Foundation: 

“This legislation in the name of a crisis endangers the environment. There are climate and nature friendly projects that don’t need to bypass Canadian laws, ones that are ready with broad public support. We’ll keep championing bold, nation-building projects that confront the climate and nature crises—solutions we can all be proud of.”

Wyanne Sandler, National Network Director, For Our Kids:

“Between political instability, US tariffs, and the worsening climate crisis, it’s a hard time to be a parent. Protecting our kids requires bold political action grounded in environmental sustainability and economic justice. Instead, we’re getting a bill that gives polluters free rein to trample Indigenous rights and destroy the air, lands, and waters that sustain us all. Families in Canada deserve better.”

Jamie Kneen, National Program Co-lead, MiningWatch Canada:

“At a time of economic turmoil, environmental crisis, war, and genocide, the Carney government is turning Canada towards autocracy and unnecessary resource conflicts – and away from respect for Indigenous rights and democratic, deliberative, and informed decision-making. That’s where Canada’s real ‘national interest’ lies – not in accelerating destructive projects for the sake of profits.”

Grethen Fitzgerald, Executive Director, Sierra Club Canada Foundation:

“This is a bad law brought about by a hasty and ill-tempered process reminiscent of the Executive Orders coming from the US Administration. The second half of the Building Canada Act could simply have been replaced with placing timelines on impact assessments for specific projects that will advance Canada’s commitment to reconciliation, restoration of nature, and climate objectives. Bill C-5 has the potential to reverse all of those objectives, and will result in less, not greater, uncertainty for the fossil fuel and nuclear power interests the government is seeking to appease.”