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Montreal, June 26, 2025 — Équiterre is deeply concerned about the adoption of Bill C-5, which grants Cabinet exceptional powers, allowing ministers to decide which laws they can ignore and to impose conditions on provinces in order to fast-track certain large-scale infrastructure projects.
“A few amendments managed to exempt certain laws from unilateral executive decisions, such as the Criminal Code, the Elections Act, and the Official Languages Act. But why is Cabinet still giving itself the right to wipe out endangered species and to pollute the sea and our waterways, like the St. Lawrence River?” asks Marc-André Viau, Équiterre’s Director of Government Relations.
A blank cheque
It is troubling to see a majority of parliamentarians choosing not to fulfill their role, not only by accepting to be silenced and to rush through the bill’s review, but also by handing over some of their legislative responsibilities to Cabinet. This blank cheque essentially allows Cabinet to determine what constitutes national interest, which projects will meet the criteria that it will define, and how the laws will be applied.
And a dangerous precedent
By granting Cabinet extraordinary powers with regards to the legislative and regulatory framework for projects that remain undefined, this majority of parliamentarians has created a dangerous precedent.
“No one knows whether these infrastructure projects will have the intended impact, nor whether this bill is even necessary. Anyone looking to replicate this approach in the future will be able to do so without providing proper justification for resorting to such exceptional measures, as is the case with C-5,” concludes the expert.
Équiterre's offices are located on Indigenous lands that have not been ceded by treaty, which we now call Montreal and Quebec City. We recognize that Indigenous peoples have protected their territories since immemorial times and have used their traditional knowledge to guard the lands and waters. We are grateful to live on these lands and are committed to continuing our efforts to protect them. Read more
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