Senate to hold hearings on Carney's bills to cut taxes, fast-track major projects

Globe and Mail

11-06-2025

The Senate has agreed to hold full hearings to study two key pieces of Prime Minister Mark Carney's agenda, including bills proposing a middle-class tax cut and to fast-track major projects, according to two Senate sources.
Mr. Carney has suggested he wants to have bills C-4 and C-5 passed by Canada Day. Both bills are at second reading in the House of Commons and both chambers would have to pass them in order for them to become law.
The Globe and Mail is not identifying the Senate sources who were not authorized to speak publicly as the plans had not yet been tabled.
Chloé Fedio, a spokesperson for Marc Gold, who is the representative of the government in the Senate, said the office is committed to debating and passing both bills before the Upper Chamber rises for the summer.
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She said she has not received any indication that a Senate group intends to delay the two bills.
'Our discussions with the leadership of all Senate groups on the work plans for Bill C-4 and Bill C-5 have been positive and constructive,' she said in a statement.
The two sources said the work plans propose using a committee of the whole to study the proposals, which is when ministers and other witnesses answer questions from all senators on the chamber's floor. The bills will be questioned over three days next week, according to the sources.
On Monday, the committee of the whole will sit at 2 p.m. ET. Internal Trade and Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland will testify for 65 minutes on Bill C-5 – which looks to fast-track projects, improve labour mobility and reduce internal trade barriers. Other witnesses will testify until 6 p.m. ET. on that same piece of legislation.
At 7 p.m. ET, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne will appear at the committee of the whole and take questions on Bill C-4, which focuses on tax cuts.
On Tuesday at 2 p.m. ET, senators will question Intergovernmental Affairs and One Canadian Economy Minster Dominic LeBlanc and Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Rebecca Alty. They would testify for just over two hours collectively. The remaining time, which is up to four hours, will be for other witnesses.
Wednesday will also see a four-hour committee of the whole on Bill C-5, with other witnesses.
Bill C-5, tabled last week, aims to create a federal 'major projects office' that would identify and list projects the government deems in the national interest based on a number of criteria.
Overall, the bill aims to speed up decision timelines while ensuring environmental protections and commitments to Indigenous rights, according to the federal government. It has said that projects would only be deemed in the national interest after full consultation with affected Indigenous Peoples.
Despite the government's insistence on consultations with Indigenous peoples, the Assembly of First Nations has raised concerns that the bill may violate collective rights. It is holding a virtual emergency meeting on June 16 so that the 634 chiefs it represents can discuss the proposal.