CME concerned with Bill C-69 Senate amendments rejection

OTTAWA (June 12, 2019) – Dennis Darby, President & CEO, issued, today,  the following statement with regards to introduction of the Senate amendments to  Bill C-69, An Act to enact the Impact Assessment Act and the Canadian Energy Regulator Act, to amend the Navigation Protection in the House of Commons.  

“Canadian manufacturers need legislation that enables responsible projects that are in the public interest to proceed quickly, amicably and predictably. The nearly 200  Senate amendments could have made Bill C-69 functional and practical. We acknowledge the tremendous effort put forward by the Senate to improve this legislation. 

Despite the record number of Senate amendments accepted by the House of Commons, it is still not enough.  Bill C-69 continues to provide vague guidelines and uncertain, longer timelines. This is simply unacceptable for manufacturers across Canada who need clarity and predictability.”

CME echoes the Governments of Ontario, New Brunswick, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta and the Northwest Territories who wrote to the Prime Minister stressing that not significantly amending the legislation will damage the economy.  We call on Members of Parliament and Senators to work together with industry to ensure this legislation strikes the right balance.