“A Subjugation”: First Nations Chiefs Blast Carney’s Nation-Building Scheme

There’s plenty to be alarmed about. Born in the heat of US president Donald Trump’s trade war, and out of the scramble to assert some measure of economic independence in an uncertain world, Bill C-5 is dressed in the language of efficiency. Should a mine or pipeline be judged vital to Canada, the nation won’t wait. That speed comes, in part, from creating a single, expedited regulatory process.

However, critics warn rushing those shovels into the ground means skipping early assessment phases, awarding broad powers to the cabinet to ignore existing environmental protections, and shrinking First Nations consultation. In practice, the new law views hard-won safeguards for Indigenous communities and their land as little more than red tape.

Organizations such as the Canadian Cancer Society have called out the way the law's vague wording could allow provincial standards to override federal ones, raising alarms that weaker rules could reintroduce banned products such as asbestos. "Federally, it's illegal to use asbestos, but that's not true in some provinces," says Gazan.