1) (Update) Liberals table bill to speed up approvals for major ‘national interest’ projects

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Kyle Duggan, June 6, 2025

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government introduced legislation Friday that would grant it new powers to quickly push forward major projects the federal cabinet deems to be in the national interest.

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc tabled a bill in the House of Commons that would give Ottawa the authority to draw up a list of large projects it wants to prioritize and to expedite their federal approval.

Carney said it has become too hard to build new projects in Canada and vowed that this legislation will change that.

“We’re in an economic crisis,” Carney told a news conference on Parliament Hill on Friday. “We’re still facing intensifying, unjustified tariffs from our largest trading partner and the best way to respond to that is to respond at home, build strength at home.”

Bill C-5, the “free trade and labour mobility in Canada act and the building Canada act,” is twinned legislation meant to break down internal trade barriers and cut red tape for major projects.

The bill was a marquee election promise by Carney, who campaigned on a pledge to make the country an “energy superpower” and build up a more resilient economy in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s global trade war.

The prime minister said he will do everything possible to get the legislation passed this summer and did not rule out having Parliament sit longer.

The House is only scheduled to sit for another two weeks and the Liberals are governing with a precarious minority, forcing them to seek the support of MPs from other parties to advance their agenda.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre described the new bill as a small step in the right direction. He also said it amounts to an admission by the Liberals that their laws have inhibited building and urged the government to take much bolder action.

“We do not need baby steps. We need breakthroughs,” he said.

Poilievre said he wants the government to repeal the oil tanker ban on B.C.’s northern coast, terminate the oil and gas sector’s emissions cap and scrap the Impact Assessment Act that sets out a process for environmental reviews.

He said he will consult with his caucus about how to approach the bill in Parliament but added that Conservatives would “vote in favour of accelerating even one project.”

Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers CEO Lisa Baiton said she is “encouraged by the federal government’s flexibility and efforts to work with the provinces to accelerate the approval process for major projects.”

But environmental groups warned the new process could upend efforts to fight climate change.

Jessica Clogg, executive director of West Coast Environmental Law, said that past experience shows “rushed approvals without assessment of risks are a recipe for conflict, legal challenges and future environmental disasters.”

Keith Stewart of Greenpeace Canada said the government should not fast track new fossil-fuel projects, as Carney has suggested.

“To even consider designating oil and gas expansion projects as in the national interest is a slap in the face to not just the next generation, but every Canadian struggling right now to deal with climate change-fueled wildfires,” he said.

The legislation would create a new federal office to take the lead on streamlining approvals for major projects and task the intergovernmental affairs minister with overseeing the final permitting decision.

The government said the goal of the bill is to send a clear signal to businesses and quickly build up investor confidence.

Carney said the current approval process forces projects to undergo multiple reviews and assessments one after another, rather than at the same time.

“That process is arduous. It takes too long and it’s holding our country back,” he said. “For too long, when federal agencies examined a project, their immediate question has been, ‘Why?’ With this new bill, we will ask ourselves, ‘How?'”

The bill sets out five criteria to evaluate whether a project is in the national interest. They include the project’s likelihood of success, whether it would strengthen the country’s resiliency and advance the interests of Indigenous peoples, and whether it would contribute to economic growth in an environmentally responsible way.

The new federal review office will work toward a goal of approving projects within two years. That’s a political promise rather than a hard-and-fast rule; the legislation does not mention timelines.

While the bill would give the government broad power to skirt environmental laws to push projects forward, one expert said it remains to be seen how Ottawa will use it.

“This is the kind of consolidation that you sometimes see in times of national emergency. We see it in wartime, we saw it in COVID to some extent. That consolidation can let you move more quickly, which can be a good thing, but it can also be a risky thing,” said Stewart Elgie, the Jarislowsky chair in clean economy at the University of Ottawa.

He warned that trying to “shortcut environmental interests” does not help expedite projects.

“The Harper government never got a major pipeline built, and it’s because they gave short shrift to environment and Indigenous concerns. It ended up with blockades and litigation that ultimately slowed down the projects,” Elgie said.

Carney said the legislation requires meaningful consultation with Indigenous Peoples consistent with the Constitution and the Crown’s duty to consult.

The federal review office will also include an Indigenous Advisory Council with First Nation, Inuit and Métis representation.

The legislation comes with a sunset clause that forces a review of the law after five years.

Carney met with the premiers earlier in the week in Saskatoon, where they privately discussed various projects the premiers want to see quickly launched — including pipelines, trade corridors and mining projects.

The new legislation does not touch on any provincial approvals that might be needed to allow a project to go ahead. — With files from Sarah Ritchie and Nick Murray

2) (Updated) Modi says he has accepted Carney’s invitation to attend G7

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By David Baxter, June 6, 2025

Prime Minister Mark Carney is defending his decision to invite Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the G7 summit later this month — despite the fact that security officials have linked Modi’s government to the murder of a Canadian man two years ago.

Carney extended the invitation to Modi during a phone call Friday morning and Modi accepted. The summit runs from June 15 to 17 in Kananaskis, Alta.

During a Friday afternoon press conference on Parliament Hill, Carney said that the G7 summit will focus on forging partnerships with emerging and developing nations. He said it makes sense to have India at the table because it’s one of the world’s largest economies and plays a key role in global supply chains.

“Bilaterally, we have now agreed importantly to continued law enforcement dialogue. So there’s been some progress on that. That recognizes issues of accountability,” Carney said. “I extended the invitation to Prime Minister Modi in that context and he has accepted.”

“As vibrant democracies bound by deep people-to-people ties, India and Canada will work together with renewed vigour, guided by mutual respect and shared interests. Look forward to our meeting at the summit,” Modi said in a social media statement.

Modi’s comment did not mention the “law enforcement dialogue” cited by Carney.

India’s ministry of external affairs issued a statement Friday with similar wording to Modi’s comment. Both congratulated Carney on his recent electoral victory. 

The invitation prompted an angry reaction from the World Sikh Organization of Canada, which wrote to Carney in May asking him not to invite Modi.

Tensions have been high between Canada and India since then-prime minister Justin Trudeau told the House of Commons in September 2023 that “agents of the Indian government” had been linked to the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian activist for Sikh separatism shot to death outside a gurdwara in Surrey, B.C., in June 2023.

Balpreet Singh, legal counsel and spokesman for the World Sikh Organization of Canada, said Carney’s invitation to Modi is a “betrayal of Canadian values.”

“The summit to which Mr. Modi is being invited falls on the anniversary of the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar two years ago,” he said. “So for us, this is unacceptable, it’s shocking and it’s a complete reversal of the principled stand that Prime Minister Trudeau had taken.”

At the time of his death, Nijjar was organizing a non-binding referendum in Canada on establishing a Sikh state in Punjab, to be called Khalistan.

The Indian government rejected Trudeau’s accusation and said Canada was supporting “Khalistani terrorists.”

In May 2024, four Indian nationals were arrested and charged in connection with Nijjar’s death.

In October 2024, the RCMP said it had evidence linking agents of India’s government to homicides and other criminal acts in Canada, including coercion and extortion.

Soon after, the federal government announced it had expelled six Indian diplomats and consular officials in relation to what it called “a targeted campaign against Canadian citizens by agents linked to the Government of India.”

In a media statement, Global Affairs Canada said it had asked India to waive diplomatic and consular immunities “and to co-operate in the investigation,” but India declined.

India responded in kind by expelling six diplomats, including Canada’s high commissioner.

On Oct. 17, 2024, the U.S. Justice Department announced criminal charges against an Indian government employee in connection with an alleged foiled murder-for-hire plot targeting a Sikh separatist leader in New York City.

Asked about his decision to invite Modi as unanswered questions remain about Nijjar’s death, Carney said that it’s never appropriate for a leader to talk about a legal process while it is ongoing.

Singh said that the World Sikh Organization wrote Carney a letter on May 21 asking that Modi not be invited to the G7. While India is not a G7 member, the country has been invited to the summit by the host nation every year since 2019.

“We didn’t want to make this into a public issue but there was no response. There was no acknowledgment of receipt. But this is, it really boggles the mind,” Singh said. “How can a country that has engaged in criminal operations in Canada, which is engaged in multiple murders, extortions, receive a red-carpet welcome?”

When asked what his message is for people who are worried about Modi’s invitation, Carney said the “rule of law is proceeding as it should in Canada, and I am not going to disrupt that process.”

Naresh Raghubeer, a Canada-India relations expert, said that it’s important for Carney to attempt to reset the relationship with the Modi government.

“Let policing matters be dealt with at the policing level, and bilateral relationships that transcend those other matters should be dealt with bilaterally. They’re more important considerations,” Raghubeer said.

“I think at the end of the day, a relationship with the world’s fourth largest economy, the world’s most populous nation, a democratic ally that shares our values, is quite important.”

Last week, former prime minister Stephen Harper urged Canada to forge a new path with India during a speech at an event in Brampton, Ont.

During a press conference, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said “we need to work with India and other countries on trade and security.”

“So we as Conservatives understand that the invitation is necessary and that we want to see the government work on addressing security issues at the same time as they have when the prime minister has those conversations with the Prime Minster Modi,” Poilievre added.

During the final days of the federal election campaign, former NDP leader Jagmeet Singh said that in December 2023 he was put under heavy police protection due to a credible threat to his life.

He said the RCMP did not identify a specific source for the threat but the implication was that it originated with a foreign government.

NDP national security critic Jenny Kwan and foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson condemned the invitation in a joint statement and said they stand with the Sikh community. 

“Canadians expect the government to stand in solidarity with Canadians who have expressed their concerns about the (Bharatiya Janata Party) government’s record and human rights violations in India,” said McPherson. 

“Some of these Canadians live in fear of threat of reprisal against themselves and their families. Canada must stand on the side of human rights, justice, and accountability not diplomatic expediency.”

Kwan said that the government “must explain how justice and human rights are being upheld through this invitation.”

Balpreet Singh said the World Sikh Organization doesn’t plan on sending further correspondence to the prime minister about Modi’s invitation.

“What’s the point? I mean, we sent something out on May 21 and received no response,” he said. “And clearly, our voices don’t matter to him.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum are among the other non-member world leaders invited to the summit. As of May 28, Sheinbaum had not said whether she would attend. — With files from The Associated Press

3)Ford says Carney is in ‘deep’ trade talks with Trump

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Kyle Duggan, June 5, 2025

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says Prime Minister Mark Carney is in “deep, deep discussions” on trade with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Ford says he spoke with Carney on Wednesday and told him the best outcome would be a swift deal with the U.S. to drop Trump’s tariffs on Canadian products.

Ford also says that if that deal does not come through in the next few days, Canada should “come out guns a-blazing” and match Trump’s new steel and aluminum tariffs with retaliatory levies of its own.

Ford, speaking at the Ontario legislature, says he is in contact with Carney on an “almost daily” basis.

Canadian steel companies and union workers are meeting with members of Parliament today to try to convince Ottawa to hit back at Trump’s recent tariff hike.

Trump doubled U.S. duties on steel and aluminum imports Wednesday from 25 to 50 per cent.

— With files from Allison Jones in Toronto

4) Liberals’ throne speech adopted without a recorded vote; Considered a confidence vote, the throne speech was adopted Wednesday evening

Courtesy CBC News

Darren Major · CBC News · Posted: Jun 04, 2025

Social Sharing

The Liberal government avoided its first confidence vote Wednesday evening as MPs adopted the throne speech.

When debating legislation in the House, the Speaker will ask if MPs request a “recorded division,” or a standing vote. If no MP asks for one, the motion is deemed adopted.

No MP asked for recorded division on the throne speech when the time to vote came, meaning it was passed without MPs standing to vote.

“The House of Commons has adopted our new government’s speech from the throne, setting the stage for a strong and focused agenda,” Government House leader Steven MacKinnon said in a social media post on Wednesday.

• Opposition MPs defeat Liberals on vote calling for spring economic update
• Carney says Canada is preparing reprisals if tariff talks with Trump fail
• Conservatives signal they are willing to back Carney’s Liberals on some legislation

The adoption came despite Interim NDP Leader Don Davies saying his party would be voting against the throne speech earlier Wednesday.

If the throne speech had proceeded to a standing vote, the Liberals would have needed another opposition party to survive the confidence vote.

NDP leader says party will vote against throne speech

1 day ago

Duration1:17: Interim NDP Leader Don Davies said the party will vote no to the speech from the throne before question period, and the speech ‘foreshadows $28 billion in cuts that will absolutely hurt working people across this country.’

Davies told reporters on Parliament Hill that the throne speech doesn’t emphasize some key priorities that the NDP want included, such as health care and employment benefits.

“It’s a clear message that this throne speech is not a worker-centred throne speech and it does not deliver the priorities that we heard from millions of Canadians across this country,” Davies said.

“We can’t support a speech that so badly misses the mark in terms of the economic and social policies people need in this country.”

The NDP was reduced to seven seats in April’s election. But with the Liberals just a few seats short of a majority, the party still has some sway in this Parliament.

The Conservatives have said they would back the Liberals in certain circumstances. But neither the Conservatives nor the Bloc Québécois said they would back the throne speech ahead of the time to vote.

Liberals lost vote to amend speech

The adoption of the throne speech came just days after the Liberals lost a vote to amend the speech.

Opposition MPs outvoted the Liberals 166 to 164 on Monday night to include the amendment which calls on the government to table an economic update before Parliament breaks for the summer.

WATCH | Conservatives call for spring economic update: 

Carney ‘ignoring’ will of the House on spring economic update: Melissa Lantsman | Power & Politics

2 days ago

Duration 8:42 Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantsman tells Power & Politics the Liberal government is ‘ignoring’ the will of the majority in Parliament after opposition MPs won a non-binding vote calling for a spring economic update.

The amendment was put forward by the Conservatives and included language inserted by the Bloc and NDP. All three opposition parties voted to support it.

The NDP, which had a supply-and-confidence agreement with the previous Liberal government, has said it will not enter a formal arrangement to support Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government.

5) Federal bill includes new security powers to tighten border, immigration system

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Jim Bronskill, June 4, 2025

Proposed federal legislation would give authorities new powers to search mail, make it easier for officials to pause or cancel immigration applications and expand the Canadian Coast Guard’s role to include security activities.

Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree introduced the legislation in the House of Commons on Tuesday.

The government says the wide-ranging bill aims to keep borders secure, combat transnational organized crime, stop the flow of deadly fentanyl and crack down on money laundering.

“To be truly strong, Canada must be secure,” Anandasangaree told reporters. “That is why I’m asking all parties to come together to support this very important legislation.”

The bill is part of Ottawa’s effort to persuade U.S. President Donald Trump that Canada is doing enough to stem the southbound flow of drugs and migrants. Trump used claims about cross-border fentanyl traffic and irregular migration to justify imposing tariffs on Canadian imports.

“Canada will continue to work with our U.S. partners to ensure that our border remains secure, while we continue to manage the legitimate and efficient movement of people and goods between our countries,” Anandasangaree said.

“The additional measures we’re taking today to further secure Canada’s border will help sustain the security and economic partnership for many years to come.”

The proposed legislation would, among other things:

— require owners and operators at certain ports to provide facilities for the Canada Border Services Agency to examine and detain goods bound for export;

— remove barriers that prevent police from searching mail, where authorized to do so under the law, to advance a criminal investigation;

— expand Canada Post’s inspection authority to open mail;

— protect the refugee system against sudden increases in claims by introducing new ineligibility rules, and strengthen the ability to cancel, suspend or stop accepting new applications;

— allow the Coast Guard to conduct security patrols and collect, analyze and circulate information and intelligence for security purposes;

— enhance the ability of the RCMP to share information collected on registered sex offenders with domestic and international partners;

— facilitate police access to basic information and data and amend the law governing the Canadian Security Intelligence Service to bolster the spy service’s investigative tools;

— ensure that electronic service providers support the police and CSIS in criminal and intelligence investigations by compelling them to fulfil legally authorized requests to access or intercept information and communications; 

— enable the health minister to more rapidly control precursor chemicals that can be used to produce illicit drugs;

— introduce new restrictions on large cash transactions and “third party deposits.”

The new bill builds on earlier Canadian border security measures, including round-the-clock surveillance of the border using helicopters, drones and surveillance towers.

Ottawa is also working with Washington on a North American “joint strike force” to target organized crime groups that work across borders.

— With files from Alessia Passafiume