The world is changing rapidly. In response, Canada is focused on what we can control: building a stronger, more independent, and more sustainable economy. We are leveraging our strengths and moving with speed to open new markets, strengthen supply chains, accelerate projects, and unlock our natural resources. As we build, we are ensuring workers have the protections, security, and opportunities they need to succeed, creating good jobs and greater prosperity for Canadians.
To that end, today, the Government of Canada introduced Bill C-39 the Building Canada Strong Act to bring greater speed, certainty, and predictability to infrastructure project reviews, and support the workers who will build them. This will give business the confidence to invest in Canada, accelerate projects, and drive long-term growth and prosperity that protects the environment and upholds Indigenous rights. Bill C-39 is the most comprehensive and ambitious reform to Canada’s ability to get big things built in a generation. It will reshape the regulatory approvals process, maintain Canada’s rigorous standards and uphold Indigenous rights.
The proposed legislation will:
- Build Canada Now: Get projects in Canada built faster by ensuring federal reviews and decisions are completed within one year of a proponent submitting a comprehensive application.
- The legislation will establish clearer, simpler, and more predictable processes for project proponents and Indigenous groups participating in project consultations, giving investors the certainty they need to put capital to work and build in Canada.
- This will accelerate investment, strengthen our economy, enhance energy security, and create high-paying careers for Canadians while protecting nature and the environment, and in full respect of Indigenous rights.
- Keep Canada Moving: Strengthen Canada’s trade corridors and ports to move Canadian goods faster, unlock new markets, and build more resilient supply chains.
- Canada will formally designate strategic trade corridors, remove bottlenecks, and establish a transportation project office to coordinate federal permitting and advance priority transportation projects within one-year.
- Legislative changes will also modernise port governance, advance new trade digitalization strategies, reduce administrative burdens, and create clearer, more predictable rules that attract private investment and make our ports more competitive.
- These measures will help Canadian businesses build, and connect them to more global markets, while maintaining high standards for safety, security, and sustainability.
- Canada Strong For All: Modernise the federal labour framework and strengthen protection for workers in federally regulated industries.
- Changes to the Canada Labour Code will strengthen collective bargaining by helping parties address issues earlier, reach negotiated agreements, and resolve disputes while fully protecting the right to strike.
- Additional measures will modernise federal labour protections to keep pace with a changing economy.
- The government will also be adding 100 new health and safety officers to increase inspection capacity by approximately 70%, hiring 26 new staff at the Canada Industrial Relations Board to clear the backlog of complaints by workers against employers, and cracking down on worker misclassification with more inspectors.
- Together, these changes will ensure workers are treated fairly, protected on the job, have greater income security, and promote stable labour relations.
The proposed measures were informed by cross-country engagement with workers, unions, employers, Indigenous Peoples, provinces and territories, industry, and other partners. They told us clearly what Canada needs to build a stronger economy. The Building Canada Strong Act responds to that. It accelerates projects that harness Canada’s energy and natural resources, strengthens the transportation and supply chains that connect them to global markets, and builds safer workplaces with strong protections and security for workers.
The Government of Canada is moving quickly and diligently to advance these proposals, including through parliamentary review and continued collaboration with provinces, territories, Indigenous Peoples, environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs), industry and unions. In parallel with this legislation, the Government of Canada has issued a Cabinet Directive to complete federal reviews and make project decisions in no more than one year. These decisions will align with the government’s priorities for economic growth and security, Indigenous reconciliation, and environmental protection, including through applying a mitigation hierarchy policy to project reviews and decisions, in alignment with Canada’s Nature Strategy.
Canada has what the world wants, and the talent to deliver it. The Building Canada Strong Act will allow us to move faster to build, invest, trade, and create high-paying Canadian careers. In a rapidly changing world we are unlocking Canada’s full economic potential and building a stronger, more independent, and more sustainable Canadian economy for all.
