Mark Carney won’t repeal anti-pipeline Bill C-69

Prime Minister Mark Carney won't repeal Bill C-69, causing confusion as he had promised to boost Canadian energy infrastructure. The “no more pipelines bill” placed severe restrictions on pipeline development in recent years.

“We do not plan to repeal Bill C-69, to answer your question,” Carney told reporters on Tuesday.

“What we have said and made very clear … is that we will move for projects of national interest to remove duplication in terms of environmental assessments and other approvals,” he clarified. 

A Supreme Court ruling in 2023 prompted the Trudeau government to scale back its authority to exclude areas of provincial jurisdiction.

Bill C-69 previously established a strict approval process and numerous regulations for the energy industry under the Trudeau government.

Carney says his Liberal government would keep the 'no more pipelines' Bill C-69 in place, claiming he will focus on "projects that are going to make material differences to our country." pic.twitter.com/vG4tOY4f8H

TC Energy cancelled Energy East in October 2017 after engaging in a burdensome regulatory process. Bill C-69, the architect of investor uncertainty, was later reversed in a judicial review, with a federal appeal before the courts. 

The National Energy Board did not approve construction of the interprovincial pipeline in 2017.

Meanwhile, a poll commissioned by the Alberta government found incredible support (91%) for building new and expanding current oil and gas infrastructure.

If completed, Energy East would have carried 1.1 million barrels of crude oil from Alberta and Saskatchewan daily to refineries in New Brunswick.

“We will follow, as the federal government, the principle of one project, one approval to move forward from that,” Carney claimed.

On Monday, Poilievre announced his plan to construct Canada’s first national energy corridor. “To build pipelines, transmission lines, rail lines, and countless other kinds of infrastructure that we need to break our dependence on the Americans,” he said. 

It would implement shovel-ready zones and lock down the permits to do the projects in a responsible way.

“In other words, the government would not have the legal right to reverse course and change its mind,” Poilievre said. “This would remove the uncertainty.”

“This certainty will allow the private sector to do the building. It will allow our businesses to invest, hire, and grow.”

Carney's support for Bill C-69 is inconsistent with his support for “one project, one approval,” as this would result in duplicate federal and provincial approvals. 

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith also criticized Carney's support of C-69, alleging contradictory private promises from the prime minister.

“Less than 2 weeks ago [Mark Carney] told me in person that C-69 was a barrier to large national energy projects and needed to be dealt with. Now he says he has no intention to do anything with it,” said Smith.

“Make no mistake. If this law stays there will be few if any large scale energy infrastructure projects built in this country and Alberta and Saskatchewan will be cut off from international markets. This means Canada will become MORE vulnerable to and overly dependent on the United States.”

Under Justin Trudeau, Canada lost an estimated $670 billion in resource investment from either cancelling or shelving major oil, gas, and energy projects, according to Energy Now Media.

Poilievre has promised to repeal Bill C-69 to facilitate energy projects, should he become prime minister.

“When you consider that Mark Carney’s ‘keep-it-in-ground’ agenda will make our economy even more dependent on the United States, it becomes very clear why Trump wants the Liberals to get a fourth term,” Poilievre said.

The MP claims Trump's support for Carney is due to his belief that Carney will hinder Canada's economic and resource potential.

“I have spent the first week of this campaign setting out my ambitious and detailed plan to build our economy so we can stand on our own feet and stand up to President Trump from a position of strength,” he said. 

“It is everything we should have been doing for the last ten years, and everything the Liberals have opposed and that, under Mark Carney, they continue to oppose.”

Alex Dhaliwal

Journalist and Writer

Alex Dhaliwal is a Political Science graduate from the University of Calgary. He has actively written on relevant Canadian issues with several prominent interviews under his belt.

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