Ottawa – Members of the Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources have recommended amendments to Bill C-69, An Act to enact the Impact Assessment Act and the Canadian Energy Regulator Act, to amend the Navigation Protection Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts, in a report that is expected to be presented to the Senate later this month.

The recommendation to amend the bill comes after committee members held extensive public hearings during their study of the legislation, which would change how large-scale resource development projects — including pipeline construction — are approved and regulated.

In all, the committee heard from nearly 300 witnesses over more than 100 hours of meetings. Committee members held meetings in Ottawa, but also in cities across Western and Eastern Canada so the bill’s regional implications could be carefully considered.

The committee agreed to report the bill to the Senate as amended after clause-by-clause considerations wrapped up on Thursday, May 16, 2019. The report will now have to be considered by the Senate as a whole.

If senators vote to adopt the committee report, the bill as amended will be debated at third reading. If senators vote to reject the report, the unamended bill will be debated at third reading. Either way, individual senators will be able to propose more amendments during third reading debate.

The committee’s full report will be available on the Senate website once the report has been presented to the Senate.

Quick Facts

• The committee heard from 277 witnesses over 108 hours of meetings that took place in Ottawa, Vancouver, Calgary, Fort McMurray, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, St. John’s, Halifax, Saint John and Québec City.
• Witnesses represented diverse interests, including those of the oil and gas sector, Indigenous groups, environmental organizations, provincial governments and resource developers.
• The committee’s Ottawa meetings — including clause-by-clause considerations — are available on demand via the ParlVU streaming service. Transcripts of committee meetings are made available on the Senate’s Bill C-69 information page as they are completed.

Quotes

“Bill C-69 is intended to dramatically reshape how large-scale energy and infrastructure projects are approved. It has attracted attention from people all over the country; we strived to represent their views in making amendments to this bill. ”

- Senator Rosa Galvez, Chair of the committee

“It is already difficult for large projects that are crucial to the health of Canada’s economy to receive the necessary approvals. We heard from many Canadians who believed Bill C-69 wasn’t good enough. We listened and we acted.”

- Senator Michael L. MacDonald, Deputy Chair of the committee

“I was grateful to see so many Canadians taking such a passionate interest in our study of Bill C-69. Their contributions gave us great insight into the diversity of opinion surrounding this issue, particularly during our cross-Canada hearings.”

- Senator Jane Cordy, member of the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure

Associated Links

• Learn more about Bill C-69 and follow its progress through Parliament.
• Follow the committee on social media using the hashtag #ENEV.
• Sign up for the Senate eNewsletter.

For more information, please contact:

Sonia Noreau
Public Relations Officer | Communications Directorate Senate of Canada
613-614-1180 | sonia.noreau@sen.parl.gc.ca