Bill C-39 Committee on Oct. 19th, 2026

[Adam Legge]

I can comment on the fact that the original Bill C-69, the Impact Assessment Act, created a tremendous amount of uncertainty with respect to project applications. It was a very lengthy process, very duplicative and repetitive. Much of the study that was done through the IAAC assessment process was then duplicated in the permitting system within the different departments, so it was a completely inefficient program.

Finally, some of the last-minute decision-making that could be made by ministers or cabinet at the eleventh hour ultimately resulted in concern from the private sector about being willing to invest in a process and a project with the uncertainty of something happening. Enbridge's northern gateway is a perfect example of that. They went through the entire process, years of the process, only to have the project rejected at the final minute. That was a bellwether of future potential applications. The private sector deemed Canada to be challenging.

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Clarke, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Legge.

I want you to know that on behalf of all the committee, you have our thoughts and prayers on everything that has occurred with the tragedy in Wainwright.

Thank you.

[Adam Legge]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, James Maloney]

Our last round of questions goes to Ms. Desrochers.

[Caroline Desrochers, Liberal, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

I want to thank the witnesses for being with us so late this evening. I also want to thank those who are here in person for being here in person.

My first question is for the representatives of the Montreal Port Authority.

I was very pleased to hear you talk about letters patent. As the member for Trois-Rivières, I discuss this with Mr. Métivier regularly, so I think he'll be pleased to hear this evening's testimony.

Several of the bill's provisions deal with identifying and mitigating bottlenecks. You mentioned paperless trade earlier. The trade diversification corridors strategy is also part of the conversation, and you talked about increasing productivity as well.

Can you tell us a bit more about how the measures in the bill will help increase productivity at our ports? What impact will this have on businesses, especially small and medium-sized ones? Will greater productivity result in better services and a faster movement of goods when they arrive, are loaded and depart? What will expedite things?

[Julien Baudry]

Thank you very much for your question.

Increasing productivity hinges on attracting more investment. In eastern Canada, for every dollar invested, both privately and publicly, American ports have invested $32. Because of those investments, some American ports are now more productive. That's not always going to be the case. More importantly, they have become more stable. That stability comes at a cost. As a result, there are currently 600,000 to 800,000 containers of Canadian goods passing through American ports. That means higher costs and a larger carbon footprint, but it also means that products from Quebec and Canada cost more to export.

[Caroline Desrochers, Liberal, Trois-Rivières, QC]

In your view, will the investments the government is making and the powers it is giving itself to expedite things make it possible to catch up?

[Julien Baudry]

Whether we can catch up remains to be seen, but we definitely need to move much faster if we want to regain sovereignty over our supply chains.

[Caroline Desrochers, Liberal, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Thank you very much.

My next question is for Mr. Legge.

I'll reiterate what my colleague, Mr. Lawrence, said about how our thoughts are with you and everyone over there today.

Let's turn to the changes in the regulation around the Canadian Energy Regulator Act and the additional speed and responsibility that will be entrusted to the Canada Energy Regulator. What message do you think this sends to investors who are deciding where to put their capital right now? Do you think the government got it right?

[Adam Legge]

Yes, I think the government got it right on several factors. First and foremost, the Canada Energy Regulator is now responsible for all energy and pipeline projects. Before, it was dispersed between them and the Impact Assessment Agency. This is the right move, to give the CER the ability to do that. We very much agree with that.

The accelerated timelines are also welcome. They got that right. We are now highly competitive with the United States, moving some of the review periods down to a time of 180 days. These are competitive times. Canada needs to move its product to other non-U.S. markets, to get its oil and gas products to Asia and to Europe. These timelines will attract significant investment and give greater certainty to the capital that's been sitting on the sidelines.

[Caroline Desrochers, Liberal, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Thank you very much.

Can you tell us a bit about how the Alberta business community is feeling these days with the messages that we've been sending?

[Adam Legge]

The members I speak to who would fall under any of the changes of Bill C-39 are tremendously optimistic. It's a combination of the mega deduction, Bill C-39 and the changes to the CER and the Impact Assessment Act, and the Pacific link designation. I can tell you that there's a tremendous amount of optimism, particularly in the resources sector in Alberta. They're just ready to get going and get building.

[Caroline Desrochers, Liberal, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Legge.

[The Chair, Liberal, James Maloney]

Thank you, Ms. Desrochers.

All right. That brings us to the conclusion of our first meeting on Bill C-39.

I want to thank our witnesses. You are our first panel of non-officials, and you got us off to a good start. We're very grateful.

The meeting is adjourned. I will see all of you very soon.