TORONTO – On the first day of the Fall Parliamentary session, the federal government released its long-awaited Bill C-39 introduced by the Minister of Transport, and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Steven MacKinnon.
The legislation, described by the federal government as aiming to “build Canada strong and create certainty for a more competitive, resilient and independent Canadian economy” outlines key proposals listed in this summer’s Getting Major Project Built Discussion Paper, as well as includes sweeping changes to the Canada Labour Code, notably on bargaining disputes. The discussion paper received major backlash from many Indigenous and environmental groups upon its release, and was criticized for its major rollback of environmental laws, disregard of its duty to seek Free, Prior and Informed Consent from Indigenous Peoples, and its short consultation timeline, which was later extended by a little over a month.
An earlier proposal of the discussion paper to amend the Species at Risk Act, which would have granted Cabinet limited power to exempt specific projects from the application of the jeopardy test for species at risk, was initially dropped by the federal government. This followed backlash from environmental groups and supporters, including Greenpeace Canada, who are worried that the change threatened the existence of already at-risk populations of animals like the Southern Resident orcas and salmon, and that the provision would have put them on a faster path to extirpation. However, Bill C-39 still outlines ways that the Species At Risk Act could be weakened, thereby undermining the federal government’s earlier announcement.
Another key proposal of the discussion paper was announced last week, when Ottawa confirmed cross-border oil pipelines, oilsands drilling facilities and natural gas-fired power plants would no longer be subject to the federal government’s impact assessment. Meanwhile, Canada just lived through another summer of climate change-fuelled extreme weather with record wildfires devastation in many Indigenous communities across the country, severe flooding in Manitoba, and heatwaves and thunderstorm watches from coast to coast to coast.
Specifics of the bill include:
- Sidelining the federal government’s duty to seek Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) from Indigenous Peoples on project decisions, lowering the United Nations for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples’ standard and adopted in Canadian law, to “the aim of securing” FPIC. As written, the legislation centres “consultation” with Indigenous Peoples, and intention over actual consent, not meaningful participation and impact on decision-making.
- Imposing a one-year timeline for federal reviews and decisions after a proponent’s project submission, compressing complex reviews of health, environmental and safety impacts into 12 months
- Permitting the designation of “regions of national interest” – originally named “Federal Economic Zones” – where certain industrial projects could be pre-approved, with no guarantee of the maintenance of environmental protection laws within them, as nature and biodiversity are only named to “support the identification and assessment of these regions”
- Allowing early construction activities to start before a project is approved, which could lead to irreversible damage on the local environment
- Weakening the Species At Risk Act to allow the Minister to consider “feasibility” when determining conditions that the proponent must follow for a project
- Weakening protection conditions for fish and fish habitat, including establishing third-party offsetting or the payment of a fee in the case of “minor impacts”
- Appointing the Canada Energy Regulator as the single authority for assessing pipelines
- Creating new guardrails around how the federal government can use Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to end strikes and lockout, including a new special mediator and report process
In reaction to the introduction of Bill C-39, Salomé Sané, Nature & Biodiversity Campaigner at Greenpeace Canada, said:
“Prime Minister Carney says this is a decisive moment for Canada, and he’s right: his government is deciding to remove decades-long environmental and labour protections to build more pipelines, bypass essential environmental protections, and sideline Free, Prior, and Informed Consent from Indigenous Peoples. The federal government’s “flood the zone” strategy seems centred around one thing: build at all costs, no matter the impacts on nature or communities. This plan is certainly not building the backbone of a resilient economy, nor an economy for the future. Instead, Carney’s government is locking us into a short-sighted strategy in which decisions about workers’ health and rights, living ecosystems–from rivers, forests to grasslands–and communities are subordinated to a logic of speed and profit, not care and protection. We have seen, time and time again, how “Build, baby, build” brings more nature loss, which, in turn, leads to lower quality of life, and increased health risks for industry workers and communities, none of which are good for a strong, healthy country.
The federal government must withdraw this bill, as it will lock us in a path of nature destruction. 75% of Canadians believe that protecting nature must be a “key consideration” when building the country. It’s time the government starts listening.”
In less than a month, countries around the world will gather for the 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biodiversity (COP-17) in Armenia, to assess global protection of nature, including the key targets of protecting and restoring 30% of lands and waters by 2030 and the integration of biodiversity in decision-making at every level of government–all requiring the stewardship and leadership of Indigenous Peoples. Greenpeace Canada will be watching Canada’s participation at COP-17 eagerly, and urges the government to demonstrate leadership on nature protection on the world stage.
Greenpeace has launched a digital petition to protect environmental safeguards and challenge the framing of nature as an “economic” zone. Add your name to send an email to your MP and demand the withdrawal of Bill C-39, the Bulldoze Nature Bill.
Nature is our home, not an Economic Zone
Tell the federal government to protect the nature that sustains us, not treat it as red tape.
ENDS
For more information, please contact:
[Patou Oumarou, Communications Campaigner, Greenpeace Canada]
[patou.oumarou@greenpeace.ca, 418 431-0263]
