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

OTTAWA — As Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre argues the government’s plan to speed up key infrastructure projects doesn’t go far enough, some Indigenous leaders are accusing Ottawa of not giving them enough time to weigh in.

The government is developing a bill to fast-track what it calls nation-building projects with a streamlined regulatory approval process as a substitute for reviews under the Impact Assessment Act, also known as C-69.

A briefing document obtained by The Canadian Press indicates the legislation would set the criteria to decide if a project is in the national interest. Once that’s decided, a single federal minister would be named to oversee a review process laying out how the project can be built.

Taking questions from reporters in Ottawa on Friday, Poilievre said he would have to read the bill before deciding whether his party can support it.

“There’s often a difference between what Liberals advertise and what they do. But look, our goal is to speed things up and remove barriers,” Poilievre said, who vowed during the recent election campaign to scrap C-69 altogether.

Bill C-69 was passed by the Liberals in 2019 to overhaul how major projects are reviewed and approved, including for environmental impacts and Indigenous consultation. It’s aim was to speed up the review process while providing stronger environmental and social accountability.

The Conservatives have called it the “no more pipelines” bill, arguing it will prevent projects from being approved and in many cases, from even being proposed.

Poilievre said that while the government’s proposal might get some projects moving, there are dozens of other projects that might not even be pitched as long as C-69 itself remains in place.

“Even if the government decides to circumvent C-69 on individual projects, there will be dozens of other projects that we might not even know about. Because investors will not come forward as long as they risk having to face the worst approval system in the world,” he said.

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 and turn itself into an energy superpower.

He announced the plan after meeting with Canada’s premiers two days before the election was called, and made it the keystone of his election platform.

The briefing document says Indigenous people will be consulted through the process to determine whether a project is in the national interest and the legislation will uphold Canada’s obligations under UNDRIP and the duty to consult.

The document also says those obligations, and Canada’s environmental protections, “will be respected while balancing the economic growth agenda.”

The Privy Council Office has been meeting with Indigenous partners to discuss the proposal ahead of its anticipated presentation to the premiers in Saskatoon next week.

Some Indigenous leaders have taken issue with how those meetings have gone so far.

Anishinabek Nation Regional Chief Scott McLeod said they were given a letter from Ottawa on Monday, but only met with officials for the first time on Friday — the deadline the federal government set for them to provide comments.

“If they really wanted things to move fast, they would have consulted us from the beginning,” he said.

“We are not a nation under a nation that’s consulted after the fact.”

National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak said after a meeting with Carney Thursday afternoon she is only aware of “bits and pieces” of the government’s plans.

“We are concerned about what we are seeing from the government so far, and based on what I’m hearing about similar proposals in Ontario, in British Columbia and Alberta,” she said.

“I fear that this may not end well.”

Keith Stewart, an energy strategist at Greenpeace Canada, said the proposed legislation would move Canada in “the wrong direction.”

“To truly honour the government’s commitment to uphold world-leading environmental standards and respect Indigenous rights, it should be focusing on projects that address climate change and the affordability crisis, rather than fast-tracking the expansion of harmful fossil fuels,” he said.

“We need green grids and affordable homes, not new pipelines.”

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers said it wouldn’t comment on the proposal until after the legislation is tabled. That’s expected to happen before the spring session of Parliament ends in June.

The organization cited its statement on the throne speech earlier this week, which said it “recognized and appreciated the significant change in tone from Prime Minister Carney’s new federal government on the opportunities that can be created by building on Canada’s oil and natural gas industry.”

— With files from Alessia Passafiume

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

Nick Murray, The Canadian Press