• Some of Canada's top scientists push for changes to Carney's new major projects bill

  Source: CBC Politics
  Date: 2026-10-22 08:00:00.0
  Tags: [National, British Columbia, Environment, Infrastructure, Energy, Governance]

  More than 50 fellows of the Royal Society of Canada published an open letter urging Parliament to make six significant amendments to Bill C-39, the Building Canada Strong Act. The 243-page bill aims to fast-track major energy and infrastructure projects by establishing a one-year review deadline and pre-approved regions of national interest, while amending over a dozen federal laws including those protecting species at risk, fisheries, and water quality. Scientists, including representatives from the University of British Columbia and Queen's University, warn that eliminating the five-year sunset clause from the original Building Canada Act (Bill C-5) and weakening environmental oversight could drive irreversible harm and species extinction, such as the endangered southern resident orca population. Federal ministers, including Dominic LeBlanc, defended the legislation before a special legislative committee, arguing that clearer timelines and robust oversight can coexist.

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• Liberal MP calls for more safeguards in new bill to fast-track development projects

  Source: CBC Politics
  Date: 2026-10-07 22:35:17.0
  Tags: [National, British Columbia, Infrastructure, Energy, Environment, Governance]

  Liberal MP Patrick Weiler publicly raised concerns in the House of Commons regarding Bill C-39, the Building Canada Strong Act, which grants the Carney government sweeping powers to fast-track major infrastructure projects like pipelines, mines, and ports within one year. Weiler flagged shortcomings including excessive ministerial discretion to exempt projects from environmental regulations, compressed timelines limiting Indigenous and public input, and provisions allowing preliminary construction before environmental assessments are complete. The legislation, overseen by Transport Minister and House Leader Steven MacKinnon, is being studied in the House of Commons via a rare legislative committee structure covering its more than 200 clauses. Environmental groups and labour unions have also pushed back against the bill, warning it threatens environmental protections, at-risk species like caribou, and labour standards.

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• Canada’s airports saw record improvements in delays, NAV Canada says

  Source: Global News Politics
  Date: 2026-09-28 15:26:44.0
  Tags: [National, British Columbia, Ontario, Alberta, Quebec, Transportation, Infrastructure, Governance]

  NAV Canada reported that the number of scheduled flights impacted by delays across Canada's four major airports—Toronto Pearson, Montréal-Trudeau, Calgary, and Vancouver International Airports—fell by 85 per cent from May 1 to Aug. 31, 2026, compared to the same period in 2025. Specifically, delayed flights dropped from 4,996 (1.54 per cent) in 2025 to 769 (0.24 per cent) in 2026, while total flight volume across the four hubs increased by 0.9 per cent to handle 394,919 flights. Vancouver recorded the sharpest improvement with delays dropping from 4.42 per cent to 0.64 per cent, Toronto Pearson had the lowest share of delayed flights at 0.04 per cent, Calgary dropped to 0.05 per cent, and Montréal-Trudeau dropped to 0.28 per cent. Additionally, NAV Canada noted that national air traffic controller staffing shortages narrowed from a deficit of 200 staff in the spring to 170 by August. Concurrently, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that the federal government is moving ahead with plans to attract private investment in Canada's four largest airports under a model where the federal government retains ownership of underlying land and assets.

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