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June 30, 2025

Articles, News, Resources

White Elephants – Bills 14, 15 and C-5

By Rosie Hsueh and James Struthers

The British Columbia provincial government recently introduced Bill 14, the Renewable Energy Project (Streamlined Permitting) Act, and Bill 15, the Infrastructure Project Act, while the federal government recently introduced Bill C-5, specifically the Building Canada Act.

The aim of these bills is to speed up project timelines by relaxing existing permit, consultation, and consent requirements.

Bill 14 – Renewable Energy Projects (Streamlined Permitting) Act

Bill 14 makes amendments to the existing Energy Resource Activities Act (“ERAA”) but only to prescribed renewable energy projects, such as wind and solar energy projects.

The Bill breaks down its application to Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 Streamlined Projects. No criteria has been provided for how a project is to be classified yet, but may be set out in future regulations. For Level 2 and 3 Streamlined Projects, the Bill lifts certain provisions from applying to renewable energy projects:

  • Permit Relief. Permits are not required to proceed with a Level 2 energy resource activity or project.
  • Prescribed Records Relief. Permit holders need not prepare and maintain prescribed records to comply with a permit.
  • Orphaned and Dormant Site Timeline Relief. Timeline designations for dormant and orphan sites are no longer required.
  • Public Investigation. The public may no longer request an investigation of a project site.

Bill 14 was assented to on May 29, 2025 but has not yet come into force, which will be done so by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council (section 27 of ERAA). The stated purpose of the ERAA is to protect public safety and the environment and support reconciliation with Indigenous peoples (section 4 of ERAA).

As permit approvals are government decisions which typically attract consultation and accommodation with Indigenous groups, Bill 14 may have a profound impact on reconciliation and the duty to consult.

Bill 15 – Infrastructure Projects Act

Bill 15 focuses on projects such as hospitals, mental health facilities, schools, and universities. The projects are broken down into Category 1 projects and Category 2 projects, which will be designated and specified in future regulations.

The Bill creates significant powers for the Minister of Infrastructure (“Minister”), the Lieutenant Governor, and project proponents:

  • Qualified Professional Certifications: A qualified professional may provide a certification in place of an approval, permit, license, or other authorization required under an enactment (section 6 of Bill 15).
  • Expedite Designated Projects: The Minister may create regulations that request a regulator’s review of the permit process be expedited (section 7 of Bill 15).
  • Vary Requirements in Another Enactment: The Lieutenant Governor may make exemptions and modify a requirement in an enactment’s provision based on an authority’s request. Regulations may be created to support such a request (section 9 of Bill 15). This provision also applies to enactments that relate to the planning, development and/or the preservation of specified lands.
  • Removal of Constraints: If the proponent of a project considers that it is impeded by a constraint to move forward with a project, the proponent may consult with the approval authority with jurisdiction for such constraints in a manner that is consistent with the requirements of that authority (section 12 of Bill 15).
  • Expedited Environmental Assessment: The Lieutenant Governor may make regulations to establish a process and expedited timeframe in which an environmental assessment is to be completed (sections 34 of Bill 15). These amendments are made directly to the Environmental Assessment Act.

Bill 15 has only proceeded through its first reading so will require a second and third reading before it is assented to and comes into force. This Bill gives significant powers to the province and project proponents, allowing formal steps to be removed or fast tracked to support the projects.

Bill C-5 – Building Canada Act

Bill C-5 is a federal enactment seeking to enact two pieces of legislation: (1) Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act, and (2) Building Canada Act. The Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act seeks to remove federal barriers to the interprovincial trade and to improve labour mobility within Canada. The Building Canada Act (“BCA”) seeks to speed up the process for projects designated to be in the national interest, which carries similarities to Bill 14 and Bill 15 in BC.

Building Canada Act

The BCA focuses on “national interest projects” (“NIP”), projects that are in the interest of Canada’s economy, sovereignty, and security, including energy security. The Governor in Council (“GC”) may consider the following factors of the project to deem it as a NIP, the extent to which the project can:

  • strengthen of Canada’s autonomy, resilience and security;
  • provide economic or other benefits to Canada;
  • have a high likelihood of successful execution;
  • advance the interests of Indigenous peoples; and
  • contribute to clean growth and to meeting Canada’s objectives regarding climate change (BCA, paragraph 5(6)).

Schedule 1 will be amended to provide an updated list of projects that have been designated as in the “national interest”. The GC also has the authority to remove a project from the list if it deems the project no longer in the national interest.

Sections 21 to 23 give the GC great powers to create regulations that exempt an NIP from a provision of an enactment or provisions of a regulation for the purposes of speeding up the process in which a project may proceed.

The House of Commons sought to push Bill C-5 into force before Canada Day, July 1, the Bill receiving Royal Assent on June 26, 2025.  

Prior to receiving Royal Assent, the Bill raised the issue of the failure to consult with Indigenous groups prior to enactment coming into force. Some Indigenous groups have indicated they received background information to the Bill but were not given enough time to review before the Bill was pushed forward to the House of Commons. The bill also contemplates an override for any requirement in an enactment to consult Indigenous groups before the project may proceed.

Criticisms

The legislative processes respecting Bills 14 and 15, and C-5, have been criticized for not allowing sufficient time for public, including Indigenous, consultation.

The bills have also been widely criticized for hindering the duty to consult and meaningful consultation with Indigenous persons and appearing plainly in conflict with existing legislation, section 35 of the Constitution, and international law.

Conclusion

Bill 14 and 15, and Bill C-5 all seek to expedite processes for projects in British Columbia and Canada, respectively, but places broad powers in the respective governments to create any regulations and exceptions that may override certain procedures and processes, in favour of expediting a project. The Bills also limit the affected third parties’ and public’s ability to bring complaints or issues with the granted permits.

While much of the manner of implementation, and actual impact of the bills, remains unknown at this stage, the bills contain provisions which have a clear, material and adverse impacts on public and Indigenous consultation. This will make consultations more challenging and push reconciliatory efforts back to Indigenous groups who will likely need to go through long and costly court processes to challenge the new legislation, or associated regulations created in the future. It is very likely that the legislation will be challenged on constitutional grounds under section 35 of the Constitution.

These bills also follow an alarming trend of government seeking to relieve itself of proper process in the pursuit of a nebulous broader public interest, and confer itself extraordinary powers.

Our Position

While we support streamlining project approvals and completion in the broader public interest, we stand with affected members of the public and Indigenous groups that oppose these pieces of legislation, and generally oppose this alarming legislative trend, and vigorously oppose any legislation infringing on section 35, or other provisions, of the constitution, or winding back what little progress we as a Nation have made respecting the rights and title of Indigenous persons.

The timing of bill C-5’s proposed enactment is distastefully ironic as the Federal government is set to make this announcement as a point of National pride on a holiday which many Indigenous persons do not celebrate due to the disgraceful, dishonest and inhumane conduct of Canada and other colonial powers in relation to Indigenous persons, the effects of which continue today.

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This blog post is for information purposes only and is not a substitute for legal advice. Readers are cautioned to not rely on or take any action based on the information provided. If you have any questions regarding Bill 14, 15 or C-5, please reach out to James Struthers for a complimentary consultation. You can book a consult on www.macushlaw.ca through our booking system or call 604-900-7611.