Ottawa’s plan to ‘fast-track’ infrastructure doesn’t go far enough: Poilievre

OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says the government’s plan to circumvent the Impact Assessment Act to speed up key infrastructure projects doesn’t go far enough.

Taking questions from reporters in Ottawa today, Poilievre wouldn’t say whether his party will support the bill without reading it first.

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The government is developing a “national interest” bill to fast-track nation-building projects with a streamlined regulatory approval process as a substitute for reviews under the Impact Assessment Act.

Poilievre says that while that might get some projects moving, there are dozens of other projects that might not even come forward as long as the act itself remains in place.

Poilievre calls the Impact Assessment Act, also known as C-69, the “worst approval system in the world” and frequently criticized it during the election campaign.

Prime Minister Mark Carney campaigned on a promise to push big projects forward swiftly, as Canada seeks to decouple its economy from an increasingly unpredictable and unreliable United States.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 30, 2025.

Nick Murray, The Canadian Press