CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY

Good afternoon.

I want to address the tragedy at Bow Glacier Falls and offer my condolences to the loved ones of those who have lost their lives in this tragic accident. And I wish a full recovery to all those injured.

Thank you to the first responders and Parks Canada employees who have been conducting search and rescue efforts over the last day.

We’d only keep you here this late on Friday for really, really important news.

Today is an important day for Canada – Bill C-5, our government’s One Canadian Economy legislation – has just passed in the House of Commons. 

Bill C-5 is based on two pillars, both equally important to building one Canadian economy.

This legislation is about building a stronger, more competitive, more resilient economy that benefits all Canadians.

It is tailor-made to respond to this pivotal moment with urgency and determination. 

The first component of this bill eliminates federal barriers to internal trade and labour mobility.

It is our contribution to a broader effort with all the provinces and territories to eliminate the barriers that have held back our country for far too long.

Barriers that cost Canadians as much as $200 billion in lost opportunities a year. That’s the equivalent of $50,000 for every Canadian.

And with the changes to labour mobility, it will help Canadian workers to do their jobs wherever they want. 

The second component of this bill is especially consequential for our nation.

Canada is a country that once built great things.

Expo 67, from concept to completion, took only four and a half years. 

The St. Lawrence Seaway, seven locks stretching over 300 kilometres that has transported more than 3 billion tonnes of cargo since it opened in 1959, took just five years to build. 

These were nation-building projects. Major structures – built with ambition and determination – that connected and transformed our national economy. 

They represent much of how we will build again. 

But, today, and with this bill, the word ‘nation’ carries more than one meaning.   

These projects will build our national economy, and through Indigenous equity and resource management, these projects will be built with Indigenous nations and communities. 

This is not an aspiration. It is the plan, embedded in the bill itself. 

The goal of the One Canadian Economy Act was developed in recognition of the importance of protecting the environment and upholding Indigenous rights.

This commitment is at the heart of the Act.

With this legislation, we will identify nation-building projects, meaning those that:

• strengthen Canada’s autonomy, resilience, and security;
• have clear benefits for Canada;
• have a high likelihood of being completed;
• contribute to clean growth and Canada’s climate goals;
• advance the interests of Indigenous Peoples. 

For projects that meet these criteria, we will consider them approved from the outset and expedite the assessment process.

There will be meaningful consultation with Indigenous communities during the process of selecting nation-building projects and during the development of the conditions for each project.

Through Canada’s United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) Act, federal laws are to be in alignment with UNDRIP and therefore respect the principle of free, informed, prior consent. It’s also the right thing to do. 

The Major Federal Projects Office will have an Indigenous Advisory Council whose core function will be to honour Section 35 rights in the implementation of this bill. It will have First Nations, Inuit, and Métis membership as well as regional representation. We’ve announced additional funding to support First Nations, Inuit, and Métis coming to the table to participate and enhance capacity building in this new process, from participation in negotiations to project selection and development. And we will continue to support them with nation building. 

I thank the ministers and Indigenous caucus and leadership from across the country for sharing your perspectives and your sincere openness to getting this right. 

We all agree that more fulsome conversations are needed to select the nation-building projects and determine the conditions they must fulfill. We will have those conversations. Indeed, we must have them – this bill necessitates them. 

It takes time to build trust and shared leadership.

It means building an economy where Indigenous communities participate fully in the national economy. Where Indigenous micro-economies are not isolated, but integrated into large-scale projects that connect communities to the national economy, creating more jobs and greater prosperity.

That’s why the first thing we will do to launch the implementation of this legislation in the right way is to organize full-day summits with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis rights holders, leadership, and experts.

To that end, I will be meeting with First Nations rights holders on July 17, with Inuit leadership in late July, and with Métis leadership hopefully soon thereafter.

I will attend these meetings, alongside the responsible ministers, which will include working sessions and public roundtables. These meetings will start next month.

First Nations, Inuit, and Métis know the best way forward for the future of their communities, and what real consultation means for their lands.

I want to hear the perspectives of rights holders, their concerns and their ambitions. 

To do this, we will engage in meaningful discussions.

Ministers Freeland, Gull-Masty, Alty and Hodgson, along with public service leaders, will ensure ongoing, open, and honest conversations between the federal government and rights holders.

Consultation, co-operation, engagement, and participation are at the heart of C-5. And that is how we build our nation. 

Being a reliable partner to Indigenous Peoples is not just about upholding the duty to consult. 

It’s about enabling the creation of long-term wealth and prosperity for Indigenous Peoples through full-equity ownership. 

That is why we doubled the Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program from $5 billion to $10 billion – enabling more Indigenous communities to become owners of major projects.

As C-5 moves on to the Senate, we take nothing for granted. So I want to underscore that this bill, and the economic potential it will unleash, is critical. 

For too long, when federal agencies have examined a new project, their immediate question has been “why?”

With this bill, we will instead ask ourselves “how?”

The process to build in this country has become too arduous, it takes too long, and it is holding us back. With every year that a proposal to build a port, wind energy farm, or highway sits on an official’s desk, we are leaving investment, prosperity, jobs – people’s careers – on the table. We’re keeping ourselves dependent on foreign powers.

By building at home, we will truly make Canada strong.

Building one strong, united Canadian economy means breaking down trade and labour barriers.

That’s what we’re doing with the introduction of today’s legislation. 

This government was elected on the promise to break down internal trade barriers, to build big things, faster. 

Because we can give ourselves far more than any foreign government can ever take away.

We can build big. Build bold. Build now. Build one Canadian economy. 

We can build a better Canada for generations to come. 

Thank you.