Prime Minister Mark Carney has signalled he wants bills C-4 and C-5 passed by Canada Day.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Senator Marc Gold, who is the government’s representative, is proposing to hold full hearings to study two key pieces of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s agenda, including bills proposing a middle-class tax cut and to fast-track major projects, according to two motions Mr. Gold tabled in Canada’s upper chamber on Wednesday.
Mr. Carney has suggested he wants to have bills C-4 and C-5 passed by Canada Day. Both bills are at second reading in the House of Commons and both chambers would have to pass them in order for them to become law.
The motions will be voted on as early as Thursday, as there is a one-day notice period. The motions are expected to pass.
Chloé Fedio, a spokesperson for Mr. Gold, said the office is committed to debating and passing both bills before the Upper Chamber rises for the summer.
She said she has not received any indication that a Senate group intends to delay the two bills.
“Our discussions with the leadership of all Senate groups on the work plans for Bill C-4 and Bill C-5 have been positive and constructive,” she said in a statement.
The motions propose using a committee of the whole to study the legislation, which is when ministers and other witnesses answer questions from all senators on the chamber’s floor. The bills will be questioned over three days next week.
On Monday, the committee of the whole will sit at 2 p.m. ET. Internal Trade and Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland will testify for 65 minutes on Bill C-5 – which looks to fast-track projects, improve labour mobility and reduce internal trade barriers. Other witnesses will testify until 6 p.m. ET. on that same piece of legislation.
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On Tuesday at 2 p.m. ET, senators will question Intergovernmental Affairs and One Canadian Economy Minster Dominic LeBlanc and Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Rebecca Alty on Bill C-5. They would testify for more than two hours collectively. The remaining time, which is up to four hours, will be for other witnesses.
At 7 p.m. ET Tuesday, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne will testify on Bill C-4, which is focused on tax cuts, for 95 minutes.
Wednesday will also see a four-hour committee of the whole convene on Bill C-5, with other witnesses.
The motion on Bill C-5 also details how the study will be managed once the legislation arrives in the Senate, according to Ms. Fedio, including reducing the amount of notice time required for debate at second and third reading. It also requires that final vote take place on June 27, if it is still before the Senate. However, she said, the vote could happen sooner.
Bill C-5, tabled last week, aims to create a federal “major projects office” that would identify and list projects the government deems in the national interest based on a number of criteria.
Overall, the bill aims to speed up decision timelines while ensuring environmental protections and commitments to Indigenous rights, according to the federal government. It has said that projects would only be deemed in the national interest after full consultation with affected Indigenous Peoples.
Senators are expected to hear from cabinet ministers Dominic LeBlanc and Rebecca Alty on Bill C-5 Tuesday.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Despite the government’s insistence on consultations with Indigenous peoples, the Assembly of First Nations has raised concerns that the bill may violate collective rights. It is holding a virtual emergency meeting on June 16 so that the 634 chiefs it represents can discuss the proposal.
AFN British Columbia Regional Chief Terry Teegee, standing alongside AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, said on Wednesday that he is concerned about Bill C-5. British Columbia and Ontario have also passed similar legislation.
In trying to get their fast-tracking bills passed, governments are fast-tracking the legislative process, he said.
“It’s probably going to take a lot longer to get approval for some of these projects, because we’re going to end up in court,” he said.
Meanwhile, Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon told reporters that he has not tried to get consensus with other parties in the House of Commons to extend the current sitting.