By: Yildiz Subuk, Staff Writer
In recent years, Canada has experienced record-breaking wildfires and heat waves. Climate change has caused global temperatures to rise and ecological disasters of grave magnitude. Wildfires heavily impact communities, with large property damage, poor air quality, and forced migrations as immediate outcomes. Just a month ago, 100 properties in Squamish were set under evacuation alert due to a wildfire. The June 2023 Donnie Creek wildfire resulted in enough land burned that it was comparable in size to Prince Edward Island, making it the largest fire ever recorded in BC. Our health, well-being, and our environment are on the line. The Canadian government must take environmental protection seriously.
However, the government has taken a step backward. Prime Minister Mark Carney recently announced Bill C-5 (also known as the One Canadian Economy Act), which prioritizes economic interests while pushing aside Indigenous sovereignty and regard for the environment. It allows the government to fast-track any project deemed to be of “national interest,” causing major concerns about who this bill truly benefits.
Bill C-5 has two parts. The first part of the bill disguises the negative, undemocratic nature of the second part. Part one focuses on removing interprovincial trade barriers. These trade barriers typically consist of regulations that restrict provinces from trading. For example, different licensing standards can discourage professionals from relocating from one province to another. As consumers, these trade barriers can be felt when purchasing alcohol from other provinces. Conservative party leader Pierre Poillivere has been a proponent of lifting these trade barriers, claiming they harm the Canadian economy. Economics professor Trevor Tombe published a paper claiming up to $200 billion is being cut from the Canadian economy due to the regulations. However, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives reports these numbers are based on faulty methodology, which “overstates costs due to several unrealistic assumptions about interprovincial trade.”
There is no certainty that lifting interprovincial trade barriers will benefit the average person. The Policy Alternative claims the main factors that will be impacted are the transportation of alcohol across provinces and truckers’ mobility. This part of the bill seems like an attempt to reinforce, in the public eye, the government’s focus on economic prosperity more than actually helping anyone out.
The second part of the bill is more sinister; it allows governments to fast track any project that qualifies as being of “national interest.” These projects can include building pipelines which ultimately help the fossil fuel industry. According to The Tyee, the “fast tracking” in this scenario includes overriding preexisting laws including: “Fisheries Act, Indian Act, Canada Marine Act, Species at Risk Act, and the Impact Assessment Act.” These are all important pieces of legislation that ensure environmental safety and Indigenous sovereignty.
“Despite the focus on building, this bill has put more of a strain on relations between the Canadian government and Indigenous people.”
Politicians use the term “cutting red tape” when explaining why this bill passing will be beneficial. The red tape is framed as frustrating bureaucracy, barricading Canada’s economic progress; in reality, that red tape is regulations which prohibit projects from violating Indigenous rights and causing further environmental damage. This terminology is misleading, yet also crucial in selling the bill. According to Prime Minister Carney, Canada is facing an economic crisis and to combat it the government must relay urgency in taking action — seemingly, even if it means doing more harm than good.
Indigenous leaders have criticized the bill, along with Amnesty International, claiming it can violate Indigenous people’s right to informed consent. Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations, an Indigenous non-profit group, stated this bill will not fast track anything but rather create conflict as “The Confederacy of Treaty No. 6 First Nations will stand together to defend our rights and lands.” This bill pushes Indigenous Peoples out from debating and contesting projects being built. Despite the focus on building, this bill has put more of a strain on relations between the Canadian government and Indigenous Peoples. There’s also a reason why Indigenous communities are so opposed to such projects: sustainability.
This bill’s focus on fastracking economically beneficial projects poses serious threats to the environment. Canada’s oilsands produce some of the deadliest pollution, while actively downplaying its effects. The pollution is staggering — enough to cause sickness and other diseases, affecting air quality. The oilsands need pipelines to transport oil, so this bill is not only removing important regulation but essentially investing more into the most damaging industry in Canada. Fossil fuels, which include oil, have been the largest contributor to global warming. Global warming can manifest through wildfires, as hotter temperatures can result in wildfires worsening.
This legislation is regressive. The oil industry does not provide long-term progress, but serves its own self interest. Those that benefit the most from pipelines are the producers and transporters, while there has been no tangible evidence that pipelines provide any proper economic relief for the working class.
The Liberals clearly wanted to get this bill passed as quickly as possible. All members of the Conservative party also voted in favour of the bill. Meanwhile, the Bloc, NDP, and Green parties have all opposed it. The Bloc also proposed the bill should be split into two — free trade and labour being one part and fast-tracking projects the other — and each part be individually assessed by a committee. The proposal was vetoed by the Liberals. The eagerness to pass the bill is concerning, the message is deliberate as well. The way this bill is presented makes it seem like it’s a massive leap forward for nation building. The bill vaguely states it is looking to “enhance Canada’s prosperity, national security, economic security, national defence and national autonomy by ensuring that projects that are in the national interest are advanced through an accelerated process.” It strategically uses language associated with economic prosperity, to hide its hidden agenda.
The legitimacy of this bill is also validated by US president Donald Trump’s tariff threats, which aimed to economically back Canada into a corner. The bill acts as a response, indicating to the public that the Canadian government must do anything necessary to fight back. But, is an investment in fossil fuels and infringement on Indigenous rights truly serving the nation’s best interest? Or is it just a way to reinforce neoliberal policy that mainly benefits capitalism while being disguised as economic unity?
