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OTTAWA — The federal government is moving to speed up major project approvals and ease trade bottlenecks with new legislation that would put a one-year target on federal reviews.
Bill C-39, dubbed the Building Canada Strong Act, was introduced Monday as the first piece of legislation of the fall sitting of Parliament.
The Liberal government says the bill is intended to create clearer and more predictable approval processes for major projects, with federal reviews and decisions completed within one year after a proponent submits a comprehensive application.
Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc described the proposed standard as “one project, one review, and one year to decision.”
The changes could be significant for companies looking to advance large infrastructure developments, including projects in the energy sector, although the material released with the announcement does not identify specific pipelines or energy projects that would qualify.
The bill follows Prime Minister Mark Carney’s investment summit last week, where the federal government pitched more than 150 Canadian infrastructure projects to foreign investors while seeking about $1 trillion in investment.
Ottawa says the legislation is intended to give investors greater certainty while maintaining environmental standards and Indigenous rights.
The bill would also create a transportation projects office to co-ordinate federal permitting and help move priority transportation projects forward within one year.
Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon said the legislation would formally designate strategic trade corridors and identify ways to remove bottlenecks to keep goods moving.
The government also says it wants to make Canadian ports more competitive and commercially oriented.
Those measures place interprovincial and international trade infrastructure alongside major project approvals at the centre of the bill.
The government is presenting the legislation as part of a broader effort to make it easier to build infrastructure and attract capital to Canada at a time of continuing trade uncertainty with the United States.
MacKinnon called Bill C-39 the government’s “most significant legislation so far,” saying Canada cannot control decisions made by other countries but can improve its own infrastructure and preparedness.
The Liberals say the legislation is built around three pillars: building projects more quickly, keeping goods moving and strengthening the Canadian economy.
Bill C-39 also includes changes to the Canada Labour Code, but the major-project provisions focus on shortening federal approval timelines, co-ordinating permitting and improving the movement of goods through strategic trade corridors.
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