The parliamentary committee that oversees the process of granting regulatory exemptions to projects deemed to be in the national interest will meet on the evening of March 10. 

The Special Joint Committee on the Exercise of Powers Under the Building Canada Act was established last summer as part of Bill C-5, a law designed to accelerate ‘nation-building’ projects through regulatory fast-track and financing coordination. 

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc has the power to grant a ‘national interest’ designation to projects. 

With that status, the government issues a single conditions document that replaces the permits a project would need to obtain under several laws, including the Impact Assessment Act, Fisheries Act, and Species at Risk Act. 

Should the minister designate a national interest project, he will have to table a report to Parliament. 

If 10 or more MPs request it, he will have to appear before the Building Canada committee to explain the decision for establishing the conditions document. 

The head of the Major Projects Office, Dawn Farrell, previously told a House committee that she expects “over the course of time, one or two projects of national interest will be designated.” 

She explained the federal government could designate a project directly, or after a recommendation by the Major Projects Office (MPO). 

The Carney government has, so far, referred 11 projects to the special government agency for consideration, but could very well designate one without input from the MPO, as hinted in the Alberta-Ottawa memorandum of understanding. 

In that agreement, Alberta commits to acting as the proponent for the pipeline, and advancing it for “designation and authorization under the Building Canada Act.”

Should the project obtain the national interest designation, Ottawa has agreed to, make an “appropriate adjustment” to the  current oil tanker ban in north coast B.C. waters, “if necessary.” 

Alberta plans to submit its pipeline proposal to the Major Projects Office on or before July 1, 2026. 

First meeting in two weeks’ time

The first meeting of the committee will be procedural, determining who the joint chairs will be. 

As per the Building Canada Act, the chair representing the House will be a member of the opposition.

The members of the committee are Conservative MPs Dean Allison, Carol Anstey, Aaron Gunn, and Shannon Stubbs. 

Liberal MPs include Rachel Bendayan, Kody Blois, Sukh Dhaliwal, Corey Hogan and Tim Louis. 

Bloc Québécois MP Patrick Bonin is also part of the committee. 

Several of these MPs also sit on the natural resources and environment committees. 

The five senators who are also part of this joint committee include Claude Carignan, Peter Harder, Patti LaBoucane-Benson, Jim Quinn, and Toni Varone. 

The membership is subject to change – several of the names listed on the committee page have been updated since last summer.