Canada

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“It’s a strange thing to find myself more shocked now than at things that the Harper government tried,” said Green MP Elizabeth May, moments before her audio was cut off for the vote to begin, sending the approved bill to the Senate for its final debate.

The law allows government to scrap almost any federal law or regulation standing in a chosen project’s way, and to pre-approve projects without any review or consent from First Nations. And once those decisions are made, they are final.

Cresting on a wave of Conservative and Liberal support, Bill C-5 pushed against fierce opposition from First Nations, the NDP, Bloc Québécois, Greens and environmental groups who say the law contravenes hard-won gains on Indigenous rights and environmental protection.

The trio [BC and ON equivalents too] of fast-track laws have been pitched as a salvo against U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and roiling economic uncertainty, though some have also noted their resemblance to Trump’s own deregulatory spree.

“It is really astonishing how quickly this bill has been drafted and then how quickly it is going through Parliament,” said West Coast Environmental Law staff lawyer Anna Johnston. “They’re talking about reinventing the decision-making and regulatory processes for major projects.”

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