The Fraser Institute has released commentary on Bill C-5, after it was recently approved in the Senate. Both the President Niels Veldhuis, and the Vice President Jason Clemens, claim the bill gives "the government unprecedented powers and will likely make Canada even less attractive to investment than it is now." It has become known by senators as the "trust me" bill, due to ambiguity in the legislation, enabling the prime minister's cabinet to make decisions they consider will: "...strengthen Canada’s autonomy, resilience and security” or “provide economic benefits to Canada” or “advance the interests of Indigenous peoples” or “contribute to clean growth and to meeting Canada’s objectives with respect to climate change." Anything that the cabinet and the prime minister deem to be in Canada's "national interest" can provide the prime minister with, "unprecedented and near-unilateral powers," says the Fraser Institute. .The government claims it will accelerate the approval process and “enhance regulatory certainty and investor confidence.”Veldhuis and Clemens disagree. They believe it will "put more power in the hands of a very few in government, lead to cronyism, risks outright corruption, and make Canada even less attractive to investment."Over the last ten years, Canada has experienced a major drop in investment capital, totaling $387 billion between 2015 to 2023. .The institute claims the bill prevents the private sector from having a say in any of the investments. Instead, firms will have to lobby to convince a few federal officials of their project's "national interest."
