🍁 civid v1

Status

• The One Canadian Economy Act received royal assent on June 26, 2025. It creates two federal Acts.

Part 1 — Free trade and labour mobility

• Goods and services: Where both federal and provincial or territorial requirements apply to an aspect of interprovincial trade, complying with a comparable provincial or territorial requirement counts as complying with the federal requirement. The requirements must address the same aspect and have similar objectives. Federal regulators may decide whether requirements are comparable.
• Workers: Subject to regulations, federal regulators must recognize provincial or territorial occupational authorizations and issue comparable federal authorizations to holders who apply.
• Regulatory powers: The Governor in Council can make regulations, including exceptions and conditions. The new Act and its regulations prevail over conflicting federal laws and regulations.
• Liability: The Act bars civil actions for good-faith actions or omissions in applying these rules, but preserves judicial review and proceedings under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement.
• Timing: Part 1 comes into force on a date set by order. The designated minister must review it and report to Parliament within five years of its coming into force.

Part 2 — Building Canada

• Project designation: The Governor in Council can designate projects it considers in the national interest. Before adding a project, it must publish a 30-day notice and consult the affected province or territory; written consent is required for projects within exclusive provincial or territorial jurisdiction. The minister must also consult Indigenous peoples whose constitutionally recognized rights may be adversely affected.
• Approval process: For designated projects, findings and opinions needed for authorizations under listed federal laws are deemed favourable. This alone cannot grant an authorization, and proponents must still take required measures, including providing information and paying fees.
• Ministerial document: Once specified conditions are met, the minister must issue a document that acts as the federal authorizations named in it and sets their conditions. The minister can later amend conditions or add authorizations, subject to consultation and statutory limits.
• Regulatory changes: Cabinet can amend the list of covered federal laws and regulations and can exempt designated projects from, or vary the application of, their provisions. The initial list includes the Fisheries Act, Impact Assessment Act and portions of the Canadian Energy Regulator Act. Certain laws, including the Canada Labour Code, Criminal Code and Indian Act, cannot be added.
• Impact assessments: For a designated project under the Impact Assessment Act, specified provisions do not apply and an assessment is deemed required.
• Safeguards and consultation: Before issuing the authorization document, the minister must consult affected Indigenous peoples through a process allowing active and meaningful participation, and meet specified foreign-investment and national-security requirements. Nuclear and Canadian Energy Regulator projects require confirmations from the relevant regulator; offshore projects require regulator consultation.
• Public information: A public registry must include project descriptions, reasons for designation, cost estimates excluding commercially sensitive private financial information, and estimated completion timelines. Studies, assessments, recommendations and reasons for rejecting recommendations must be published at least 30 days before the authorization document is issued.
• Deadlines and oversight: Several cabinet and ministerial powers cannot be used while Parliament is prorogued or dissolved or after five years. An authorization document expires if the project has not substantially started within five years. Each project is subject to an annual independent status review, and a parliamentary committee must report at least every 180 days while Parliament is sitting. The minister must review the Act within five years.
• Costs: The supplied text does not state an overall cost. It requires project cost estimates in the registry and refers to proponents paying applicable fees.

The supplied Schedule 1 lists no national interest projects.