National chief calls on senators to slow down major projects bill

The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations is calling on senators to slow down Ottawa's sprint to pass Prime Minister Mark Carney's controversial major projects bill this week.

Bill C-5 is being introduced at first reading in the upper chamber after it was fast-tracked through the House of Commons and went through a rare pre-study by the Senate.

A programming motion adopted by the chamber fixes the bill to a tight schedule, with a final vote that must take place by the end of Friday.

The politically charged legislation has angered Indigenous and environmental groups who criticize the government for rushing to grant itself sweeping new powers to fast-track project permits.

But Carney has said Canada is facing an economic crisis due to the trade war with the U.S. and the country urgently needs to approve new "nation-building" projects.

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak said Wednesday she hopes the Senate "does the right thing this week" and allows for more time to study the legislation and bring forward amendments — a call that went largely unanswered when she issued it to MPs.

The bill found broad support in the Commons, where the Conservatives voted with the Liberals to pass it at third reading 306 votes to 31 last week, with one Liberal MP voting against it.

Sen. Paul Prosper said in an interview Tuesday night the bill is moving too quickly through Parliament and it needs to better reflect concerns raised by Indigenous groups who fear that project approvals will push aside their rights.

He has vowed to try to amend the bill but was not ready to say how.

“The overall objective of the bill, I'm sure a lot of people resonate with that and see the need for it," Prosper said. "But does it have to be within this prescribed and shortened timeline when you're not following the typical democratic process to consider something like this?

"There are some overarching provisions that allow the government to suspend existing laws and legislation, which is an extraordinary power in that regard. So there might be a need for some parameters around that, just to help ensure certain considerations with respect to the environment and which are integral to ensure Indigenous issues are taken into account."

Woodhouse Nepinak pointed out that the concept of "free, prior and informed consent" — a condition of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples that Canada approved — is not mentioned in the bill itself, despite Carney and his ministers saying they'll consult with Indigenous Peoples.

She said she's also worried about the Indigenous Advisory Council the government wants to insert into the projects approval process. She said the government can't use that body to claim it consulted with First Nations because that consultation wouldn't take into account the varied positions of leaders across the country.

"An advisory council appointed by the government will not be accountable to First Nations and will have no real power to ensure First Nations involvement in the project," she said.

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld