Carney frames fall sitting around economic resilience
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Prime Minister Mark Carney confirmed on Friday that the federal government will introduce the Building Canada Strong Act this fall following summer consultations, with a focus on speeding up project approvals.
“We've been out consulting all summer on this. We've listened. We've made some adjustments,” he said during a rapturously received speech at the Liberal Party caucus meeting on Parliament Hill on Friday.
“The bottom line, though, is this: for projects, federal projects and supply chains, our standard will be simple: one project, one review, one year.”
Carney framed the fall sitting around economic resilience, nation-building and sovereignty, pointing to recent investment commitments, trade diversification and deeper ties with Europe. He portrayed Canada as being at a “decisive moment” and said the country has become more confident, united and self-reliant over the past year and a half.
“We have a sense that over the course of the past year and a half, something's changed in the country. We all feel it, and we feel it everywhere,” he said. “What it is is Canadians coming together, confidently choosing our future.”
“We are going to introduce some of the most consequential legislation not just of this government, but in decades.”
Speaking outside the meeting, B.C. Liberal MP Patrick Weiler said the federal government is making efforts to balance ambitions to make Canada both a clean energy and conventional energy superpower, while expanding the east-west electricity grid, electrifying the economy and pursuing its goal of protecting 30 per cent of lands and waters by 2030.
“Doing all this at a time where economies are disrupted, and we're trying to diversify our exports,” he said. “It's a very delicate balance, and I think that's exactly what we're getting.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre also met with his caucus in Penticton, B.C., ahead of Parliament’s return next week. Amid reports of some fractures and low morale among the party, Poilievre sought to present a united front of an opposition party ready to support the government where needed, but also hold it to task.
Affordability is still the key issue impacting Canadians today, Poilievre said, noting despite all the meetings and agreements signed by Carney, Canadians are still feeling the pain from the rising cost of living.
“After a year of speeches, summits and symbolic signing ceremonies, what are the results for real people in their real lives? Forty nine per cent of Ontarians feeling less financially secure,” Poilievre wrote in a social media post. “Conservatives have a plan to fight for people to be able to afford food, fuel, and homes. Let's get them real results.”
