The government is pushing through Bill C-15, the 600-page Budget Implementation Act. Buried inside it is something called the Red Tape Reduction Act.
It lets any cabinet minister exempt any company from any federal law (environmental protections, public safety standards, etc.) if the minister decides it’s “in the public interest.”
No oversight. No accountability. They don’t have to say why. They don’t even have to tell us when.
So far, Elizabeth May is the only MP who has raised this in Parliament.
It’s not just Bill C-15 that’s a problem. Elizabeth also shared how Parliament itself has not been functioning as it should since the election:
- Major bills are getting almost no study. Elizabeth pointed to Bill C-5 last June, which gave Cabinet sweeping power to fast-track megaprojects. It got virtually no committee review.
- New government agencies are being hidden from view. They’re being set up as “special operating agencies” under Treasury Board confidentiality. Their budgets and work plans are secret.
- There’s still no climate plan. The previous government’s plan was scrapped. Nothing new has replaced it.