Ottawa to Table Building Canada Strong Act on Approvals and Labour

Ottawa will table major economic legislation Monday to speed up project approvals and update labour laws as Parliament returns. The Globe and Mail

Prime Minister Mark Carney said the centrepiece is a bill called the Building Canada Strong Act. It would require federal projects to go through a single review, with a decision within one year.

Ministers Steven MacKinnon, Dominic LeBlanc and Patty Hajdu are scheduled to speak at a Monday afternoon news conference on the legislation. MacKinnon holds labour and related transport responsibilities. LeBlanc holds the intergovernmental and internal-trade file. Hajdu holds jobs and employment.

The broader context here is what that lineup shows. The file touches intergovernmental affairs, internal trade and labour, which explains why all three ministers are present.

A separate government bill that could be introduced as soon as Monday would extend the federal gas tax break announced by Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne.

In terms of procedure, splitting the tax measure from the approvals and labour package allows separate drafting, separate debate at first reading and a separate committee track.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre released an open letter Sunday setting out the Official Opposition's priorities for the return. Carney addressed Liberal MPs at a caucus meeting in Ottawa on September 18. CityNews

The broader context for the timing is that both sides are setting public tests early. The Conservative letter creates a marker to judge the government's tabling motion and debate plan. Caucus unity will matter for the Liberals, because a combined approvals and labour bill needs a united front bench before committee study begins.

Carney launched a new Major Projects Office last year to fast-track nation-building projects. Prime Minister's Office The Office is mandated to work with provinces and territories toward a "one project, one review" approach for environmental assessments. The earlier Building Canada Act acts as a single window for proponents into the federal regulatory process. Prime Minister's Office

Ottawa cannot collapse provincial assessments on its own. It can set rules for its own process, negotiate substitution and co-operation agreements with provinces, where one government can use the other's review, and name a federal lead.

The broader context here is how a promise of one review and a one-year decision becomes law that departments must follow. A legal clock changes how departments work. It forces early sorting of applications, limits repeated requests for information, and puts ministers on the record when deadlines slip. The test will be in the drafting. Experts will look at how discretion is limited, what pauses the clock, and what happens if time runs out.

Looking at what this means for the fall sitting, process will shape substance. Approval reform and changes to the Canada Labour Code, the federal law for federally regulated workplaces, do not usually move at the same speed or hear from the same witnesses. Combining them creates a wider committee record but a more complex report stage. Keeping the gas-tax extension separate preserves budget flexibility. It also keeps a consumer-facing tax cut apart from a longer debate over assessment law.

In practical terms, the labour provisions are the least defined part so far. Business, labour and provincial witnesses will want early detail on which parts of the Canada Labour Code are involved and whether federally regulated sectors face different transition rules.

For federal-provincial relations, what matters is how provinces view the Major Projects Office. If provinces see the single-review model as real co-operation rather than Ottawa taking over, project lists can move. If Quebec, British Columbia or the territories insist on separate parallel processes, a one-year federal decision may still leave companies dealing with provincial timelines.

The takeaway as Parliament returns is both starting positions are clear. The government has named its bill and its spokespeople. The Opposition has published its counter-priorities. The House will now test whether a single-review promise can survive drafting, committee amendments and talks with provinces.