Transport, Infrastructure and Communities

Opening remarks

Thank you, Helena. In terms of internal trade, the Bill C-5 provisions in part 1, clauses 7 to 9 are of tremendous concern. This part of Bill C-5 would override all other federal laws. Bill C-5 would allow a company to comply with a weaker provincial or territorial standard instead of a more stringent federal standard. In the government's June 6 backgrounder, it gave an example of how a weaker provincial energy efficiency standard for washing machines would prevail over the federal standard. Here are a few examples from us. The first is asbestos, where the federal government bans asbestos in products while provinces have weaker restrictions, allowing asbestos up to a certain percentage. Bill C-5 would allow these weaker provincial restrictions to prevail. In another example, tobacco, federal regulations ban all menthol and flavour ingredients in cigarettes, whereas provinces have a less restrictive requirement allowing some flavours. Health and environment exceptions are standard in international trade agreements, and several agreements also have an explicit exemption for tobacco control measures, given the long history of abuse by tobacco companies seeking to use trade…

Opening remarks

Thank you. Members of the committee, at a time of global disruption, Canada's sovereignty and resilience must be protected and strengthened. This includes investments in nation-building efforts that reinforce our ability to act in the public interest. In this effort, environmental and health sovereignty cannot be dissociated from Canadian public values. The committee has heard conflicting views over the last days on if and how these values are reflected in Bill C-5. This in itself reinforces the highly problematic nature of the rapid-fire study of a bill that has profound implications for Canadians and for the democratic rights of indigenous and provincial governments to protect public and environmental health. Government representatives have stated that Bill C-5 is not intended to lower health, safety or environmental standards, but intentions are not law. In a country governed by the rule of law, public policy must be defined by clear statutory language, not verbal assurances. If the goal is truly to maintain or raise standards across jurisdictions, that commitment must be explicitly written into the bill through critical amendments to both parts 1 and 2. The David Suzuki…

Opening remarks

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I understand that the committee is burning the midnight oil and I thank you, of course, for all these late hours of work you're doing. Thank you to the committee members for the invitation to present to the Transport, Infrastructure and Communities committee on Bill C-5 today. On Monday, I spoke to the Senate committee of the whole on this important legislation, alongside leadership from the AFN and ITK. Today, my presentation will focus on the importance of consultation and the role of legitimate rights holders. The MMF is the national government of the Red River Métis and represents our citizens' rights, claims and interests no matter where they live, both inside and outside Manitoba. The Red River Métis are Canada's negotiating partner in Confederation and founders of Manitoba. We're the only indigenous people to bring a province into Canada. The Red River Métis are section 35 rights holders. The MMF is the only Métis government with a modern-day treaty. In 1870, in establishing Manitoba, the Red River Métis negotiated a unique treaty that included land for our families and children. Subsequently, we were not recognized by Canada as a people or…

Opening remarks

Good morning, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. My name is Trevor Mercredi, grand chief of the Treaty 8 First Nations of Alberta. I speak today on behalf of the sovereign Treaty 8 First Nations of Alberta. Although I am here speaking, each sovereign nation has their own leadership, governance and priorities and retains their inherent right to speak for themselves. We reject Bill C-5 as tabled. Its process is unconstitutional and its content is unacceptable. This bill is a clear attempt to fast-track infrastructure and resource projects by overriding rights holders under the banner of national interest. Canada gave us less than a week to respond to a non-substantive information sheet and did not share the full text of the bill before tabling it. It's a violation of the Crown's constitutional and treaty obligations. Treaty No. 8 was entered into in 1899 with the imperial Crown, not Canada. It is not a domestic policy. It is a legally binding international agreement that remains in full legal force. Our inherent rights pre-exist treaty. They are not granted or defined by it. The treaty affirms our jurisdiction over our lands, decision-making and governance. The Supreme Court…

Opening remarks

Thank you, Chair, and thank you to the members of the committee for the opportunity to appear before you today. My name is Finn Johnson, and I'm the director of government relations and communications for the Carpenters' Regional Council, an affiliate of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. The UBC represents nearly 75,000 members of the carpenters' union in Canada, working across a wide range of sectors within the skilled trades, including carpenters, drywallers, millwrights, scaffolders, concrete formworkers, pile drivers and many more professions within the construction industry. Our members are at the forefront of building and maintaining the critical infrastructure Canada relies on, including energy projects, hospitals, schools, mining projects, homes and more. Our union also prides itself on delivering industry-leading training at our 42 training centres across Canada. Canada is at a critical juncture in our country's development. To meet our economic potential, we need to build. This is an area our members know more about than most. By fast-tracking these projects, we will be creating good jobs for working people. When unnecessary red tape holds up…

Opening remarks

Thank you. On behalf of the International Union of Operating Engineers, I'm pleased to be speaking on Bill C-5. Our members build and maintain Canada's infrastructure. They help construct our nation's hydro dams, mines, nuclear plants, solar farms, wind turbines and pipelines. In short, we build it all. Recently, our members have worked on the TMX, LNG Canada, Line 3, Churchill Falls, Bruce, the Darlington SMR, Site C and the Coastal GasLink. Labour mobility is an essential part of building a stronger and more integrated economy, but it must not come at the cost of safety or the quality or value of skilled trades. Recognizing credentials across jurisdictions only works if standards are aligned and enforced. If we begin to recognize training and certifications that do not meet the same high standards, we risk a race to the bottom, so we must expand and promote the Red Seal trades. The credentials of a worker in one jurisdiction should be transferable to another only if the training and testing are equivalent in both scope and quality. Bill C-5 must ensure that only the highest standards of skills and training are recognized when workers travel between provinces and territories.…

Opening remarks

Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee, for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss Bill C-5. My name is Jeff Cyr. I'm the founder and managing partner of Raven Outcomes, an indigenous-led fund manager and private capital investor focused on investing in the well-being of indigenous communities by transforming how capital flows into meaningful initiatives and projects. We finance outcomes, not just programs, ensuring every dollar is tied to measurable results in areas such as housing, clean energy, health and employment. Our model is grounded in accountability and self-determination. Indigenous communities lead every stage of the process: defining the problem, co-designing the solution and implementing the project. Funding is provided up front by private and philanthropic capital; governments only pay once independently verified results are achieved, like lower energy bills, better housing and improved employment. In essence, outcomes finance is a results-based investment strategy that empowers indigenous leadership and community-driven solutions. Raven Outcomes was created in response to a clear message from communities. We know what works; we just…

Opening remarks

Thank you. Tansi. My name is Sheldon Sunshine. I'm chief of the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation in Treaty 8 territory, in what is now northwestern Alberta. I'll limit my comments to part 2 of Bill C-5, the building Canada act. Our ancestors entered into the treaty with the imperial Crown in 1899, before Alberta existed. The Crown guaranteed our ability to continue our way of life if we agreed to allow you into our territories and share our lands. Our ancestors would never have imagined these new levels of government, the impacts on our people and how Canada has implemented its side of this relationship. The rate at which this legislation has gone through Parliament is unprecedented. The House has no studies, has not heard from experts and has not weighed evidence, and now we're in a fast-track committee. Crown obligations to first nations can't be fast-tracked. This is why, as drafted, this legislation will only cause delay, regulatory uncertainty and litigation. The first issue with this bill is the absence of consultation. Canada is legally bound by the principle of free, prior and informed consent, FPIC. FPIC is more than an FYI, but we didn't receive even an FYI with this…

Opening remarks

Merci beaucoup. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Canada's credit unions and caisses populaires manage almost $702 billion worth of assets and serve over 11 million Canadians and more than 20% of our country's small businesses. With over 2,000 credit union locations, we are the only financial institution with a physical presence in around 350 communities. Credit unions and regional centrals employ over 30,000 Canadians and provide full service financial solutions, while being fully Canadian owned. Removing barriers to interprovincial trade has been on the agenda in Ottawa and in the provinces for decades. It's encouraging to finally see concrete progress on this issue, which has been a major irritant and barrier to economic growth for so long. To the extent that the problem lies with federal policy, this bill will address many barriers inhibiting increased trade and mobility between the provinces and regions of the country. As we all know, though, much of the work will have to take place at the provincial level, where we are also seeing good progress which we hope continues. I would like to address an issue of concern for the credit union and broader financial sector that is not in the…

Opening remarks

Thank you very much. It's a pleasure to be with you this evening. I'm pleased to provide comments on behalf of the Canadian Meat Council, which is the voice of Canada's federally inspected meat industry, representing the entire value chain of red meat production and distribution in Canada, including all beef and pork sold internationally. We are the largest component of Canada's food-processing sector, with annual sales surpassing $32 billion, exports of $9.5 billion and a workforce of almost 70,000 people nationwide. We applaud the spirit and intent of Bill C-5 as it pertains to the removal of interprovincial trade barriers. However, Bill C-5 purports to recognize provincially inspected meat-processing facilities as equivalent to federally inspected facilities, when they are not. We are concerned that the legislation in its current form would harm the meat-processing sector by limiting market access, affecting consumer confidence and, more broadly, introducing greater food risk safety and exposing the federal government to liability. We recommend that the regulations intended to accompany this framework either exclude red meat interprovincial trade or ensure that provincially…

Opening remarks

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good evening, everyone. I'm coming to you from the traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat people here in Quebec City, where the chiefs of Quebec are gathered in assembly, and one of the topics we're talking about is Bill C-5. I'm here today to express my firm and unequivocal opposition to Bill C-5, a bill that, under the guise of cutting red tape and building the nation, threatens the very foundations of Canada's constitutional order, the rights of first nations and our shared path towards reconciliation. Let me be clear: Bill C-5 proposes to reduce federal regulatory burdens and accelerate major infrastructure projects, but in doing so, it casts aside essential constitutional obligations. The duty to consult and accommodate first nations is not a procedural hurdle or a box to be checked; it is a constitutional imperative recognized and guaranteed in section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, upheld time and again by the Supreme Court and reaffirmed in Canada's commitments under the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The bill does not represent legislative reconciliation; it represents legislative recklessness. Prime Minister Carney…

Opening remarks

Thank you, Chair and committee members, for the opportunity to speak to you today. I join you from beautiful Inuvik, Northwest Territories, which has the midnight sun this time of year. Bill C-5 is a very imperfect bill. It's not where I would start if I was looking to unleash Canadian resources and make Canada into an energy superpower, but I won't make the perfect the enemy of the good. Bill C-5 responds to the urgency of Canada's situation. If implemented well, it could position Canada to grow our economy, diversify our trade and improve our market access. I do not oppose this bill. Let me start with the good. I am grateful that this government has made building major projects a focus of its first sitting and a hallmark bill. It matters. It signifies a change of priorities and an enthusiasm for building instead of blocking major projects. For 10 years much of the resource sector in the country has been in fight-or-flight mode, but in the past few weeks, I've been hearing optimism and bullishness from prairie premiers and energy CEOs. They believe this government may actually intend to build some infrastructure and position Canada to be an energy superpower. It is refreshing,…

Opening remarks

Who wouldn't?