Stand.earth statement on Bill C-5: When “One Canadian…” really means “corporate interests”

OTTAWA | TRADITIONAL, UNCEDED TERRITORY OF THE ALGONQUIN ANISHNAABEG PEOPLE –  Friday evening (EDT), June 20th, The House of Commons passed Bill C-5, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s so-called “One Canadian Economy Act,” which grants the government sweeping new powers to fast-track fossil fuel and forestry projects with minimal environmental impact oversight and Indigenous consultation.

The bill threatens to silence science and weaken public oversight. It is a focused attack on environmental safeguards and democratic process to further corporate interests. 

Bill C-5 gives cabinet broad authority to designate “national interest” projects and rush them through, circumventing multiple environmental laws—including the Species at Risk Act, Fisheries Act, and Canadian Environmental Protection Act. There is currently no clear definition of what the bill designates as “national interest”.

The bill was passed with minimal debate and limited consultation, raising concerns about the erosion of democratic due process. Canadians demand due process and corporate accountability. With two-thirds of Canadians favouring developing clean energy over fossil fuels, and 85% wishing to maintain or increase federal climate action, this bill, centered around “nation-building”, could very well leave the nation out of it… and First Nations, as long as Free Prior and Informed consent and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People is not respected, which this fast-tracking bill threatens to do.

There is still an opportunity to reflect what people want our tax dollars to support by keeping front and centre the environmental and social protections that are a core value of Canadian society. This means choosing projects which are bold, transformative, and forward-looking, such as:

• Working with provincial and Indigenous governments to make rare, old and at-risk forests off limits to logging while supporting Indigenous-led land use visions and protected areas plans. 
• Creating a modernized, east-west electricity grid – not fossil fuel pipelines – connecting Canadians with clean, renewable, and reliable power—reducing emissions, lowering costs, and ensuring energy independence.
• Building out high speed rail, starting with high-speed rail links between Calgary and Edmonton, and Windsor and Quebec, built in partnership with Indigenous Nations as a public project. This will unlock new corridors of economic activity, expand access and mobility, while cutting pollution.
• Expanding public transit services to serve rural and remote communities that have, for too long, been left out in the cold regarding affordable, sustainable, and safe ways to get around.
• Building new, energy efficient homes on a massive scale using clean heating technologies and durable low-carbon building materials made in Canada and investing in heat pump manufacturing that will make Canada more self-sufficient and generate new jobs.  
• Retrofitting buildings across the country with a focus on direct installs for apartments that cater to low-income families, creating thousands of jobs, spurring economic activity, and reducing home energy bills. 

Turning Canada into a renewable energy superpower—not a petrostate—means investing in the solar, wind, geothermal, and energy storage projects that communities want. They must be built  in places that don’t compromise sensitive ecosystems and species. At a time when the majority of people in Canada face an affordability crisis, we cannot be distracted from this focus by industry lobbyists selling its snake oil – whether it’s forest biomass, liquified “natural” gas, or carbon capture and storage tech. This moment demands solutions grounded in healthy ecosystems — like restoring wetlands, forests, agricultural lands, and peatlands that protect biodiversity while absorbing and trapping carbon.

While Bill C-5 is a blow to regulators and democratic process, Prime Minister Mark Carney can still show true climate leadership. Environmental organizations from coast to coast to coast are ready to work with this government to ensure that nation-building projects uphold our values while ensuring our economic security.

We have a rich legacy of public investments that has transformed our country for the better. Projects that defend what we love while preparing us for what’s next. There’s an opportunity here to show the world what acts of collective imagination and long-term thinking can achieve.