The federal government’s new bill to fast-track projects “in the national interest” sparked immediate concerns from the Assembly of First Nations and Canada’s largest network of labour unions, climate, environmental and faith groups and Indigenous organizations.

If it becomes law, the federal government will essentially be able to approve certain projects before federal regulatory processes take place. Environmental and other concerns will no longer be able to stop these projects, but mechanisms will be put in place to mitigate any harms.

“Green-lighting major projects up front, before asking how they would affect communities, is nonsensical,” Alex Cool-Fergus, national policy manager at Climate Action Network Canada said in a press release.

“Bypassing democratic norms under the pretext

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