Bill C-39 is a legislative assault on our communities, workers, and the planet.
It's an attack on workers and the right to strike. It's an attack on Indigenous communities and their ability to refuse mega-projects on their lands. And it's an attack on our planet – bypassing environmental regulations that protect nature, wildlife, and the climate.
Let’s stop this dangerous power grab before it becomes law.
Labour unions, Indigenous rights groups, and environmental organizations are joining forces to organize a National Day of Action to STOP C-39. Get involved by finding an action near you, or signing up below to host your own.
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Why is Bill C-39 Dangerous?
This proposed legislation is a textbook example of corporate capture. Under the cover of standing up to Trump, the federal government is ticking off one item after another from CEOs' wishlist. This bill is playing right into the hands of mega corporations by restricting workers' right to strike, shredding environmental assessments, and undermining First Nations' land rights.
Here are some of the most alarming parts of this bill:
Attacks on Indigenous rights:
The Chiefs of Ontario, the Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador, the British Columbia Assembly of First Nations, Nishnawbe Aski Nation, and grassroots Indigenous rights groups across the country are united in rejecting Bill C-39, saying that it “overrides the inherent, Treaty and constitutionally protected rights of First Nations.”
Attacks on the right to strike:
According to the Canadian Labour Congress, Bill C-39 would “give the Canadian government broader unilateral power to end a legal strike than exists in any other G7 country.”
Bulldozing Nature:
Ministers would have sweeping powers to exempt companies from abiding critical legislation including the Species at Risk Act, the Canadian Navigable Waters Act, and the Fisheries Act. Every time these exemptions would be considered, opportunities for profit would trump survivability concerns for endangered wildlife like the critically endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales.
Prioritizing profit over people threatens our future:
This law imposes a one-year timeline that forces a rushed approval of new projects. And it allows the Canadian Energy Regulator to pre-approve pipelines without a proper environmental assessment. It’s clear that Big Oil will benefit while we pay the price.
Federal destruction zones threaten our communities:
The federal Cabinet would have the power to create “regions of national interest” where industrial mega-projects like pipelines can be automatically approved, no matter the cost to our communities, the environment, or our future.
Corporate power grab:
Canada’s CEOs have been lobbying for a rollback of environmental regulations, Treaty rights, and workers rights for years. This Bill is fast-tracking a corporate agenda that was around before Trump’s re-election, using the trade war as a smokescreen.
