Building Canada Strong Act

This affects you if you are a lawyer, regulator, or project proponent who needs to know which law governs national-interest projects. For most Canadians, this is background legal housekeeping.

• Parliament creates a brand-new federal statute called the Building Canada Strong Act, which did not exist before.
• This new law is the legal container for the national-interest project rules described in other sections of this bill.

Sources in the bill: Clause 1

This affects you if you are proposing a major project that requires a federal environmental review — especially a nuclear project. It also affects Indigenous groups consulted during reviews, members of the public who participate in hearings, and federal agencies that issue permits for major projects.

• Nuclear projects get their own review body. The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC — the federal nuclear regulator) becomes the authority that runs impact assessments for any designated project involving nuclear activities, instead of the Impact Assessment Agency.
• The Minister is banned from sending a nuclear project to an independent review panel. Only the CNSC handles those assessments.
• Project proponents must submit all required information and studies within 365 days (about one year) of the official start notice.
• The government commits to issuing a final decision statement within one year after the proponent delivers the required information. If that deadline is missed, the Minister must post online the reasons and a new proposed timeline.
• The CNSC must complete its assessment report within 300 days (about 10 months) of the information-complete notice being posted.
• Any condition in a CNSC decision statement is automatically treated as a condition of the proponent's nuclear licence — no separate licensing step is needed for those conditions.
• Federal agencies that hold specialist knowledge about a required permit must share that knowledge with the responsible authority on request, within the time period specified.
• Federal agencies must immediately notify the responsible authority if they discover a barrier to granting a required permit, or if the permit turns out not to be needed.
• The Minister can now grant certain required federal permits at the same time as issuing the final decision statement, instead of in a separate process afterward.
• National-interest projects (as defined under the Building Canada Act) are exempt from the new coordinated permit rules in sections 59.1, 59.2, 64.1, 64.2, and 69.1.
• The CNSC must run a public funding program to help members of the public participate in its impact assessments. The Agency may run a similar program for Indigenous groups in relation to federal permits.
• The CNSC must publish an annual report on its activities under the Impact Assessment Act within 120 days after each fiscal year end. The responsible minister must table it in Parliament within 15 sitting days.
• The federal cabinet (Governor in Council) can issue binding policy directives to the CNSC about how it exercises its powers under the Impact Assessment Act.
• Indigenous knowledge shared in confidence with the CNSC is protected. The CNSC must not disclose it without written consent, and must consult the knowledge-holder before any disclosure for procedural fairness reasons.

Sources in the bill: Clause 2Clause 3(2)Clause 3(3)Clause 4(1)Clause 5(1)Clause 5(2)Clause 6(1)Clause 7Clause 8(1)Clause 9Clause 10(1)Clause 11Clause 13Clause 14Clause 15(1)Clause 15(3)Clause 16Clause 17(2)Clause 18Clause 19Clause 20(2)Clause 20(3)Clause 24(1)Clause 24(2)Clause 25Clause 22Clause 23Clause 21Clause 26(1)Clause 26(3)Clause 27Clause 29Clause 30Clause 31Clause 32Clause 33Clause 34Clause 35Clause 36Clause 37Clause 38Clause 39Clause 40Clause 41Clause 42Clause 43Clause 44Clause 45Clause 46Clause 47Clause 48Clause 49Clause 50(1) and 50(2)Clause 50(3)Clause 50(7)Clause 51Clause 52Clause 53(1)Clause 53(2)Clause 54Clause 56Clause 57Clause 58Clause 59(2)Clause 60Clause 61Clause 62Clause 63(1)Clause 63(2)Clause 64Clause 65Clause 66Clause 67(1) and 67(3)Clause 68Clause 69(1) and 69(4)Clause 70(1)Clause 70(2)Clause 71Clause 72Clause 73Clause 74Clause 75Clause 76Clause 77(1)Clause 77(2)Clause 78Clause 79Clause 80Clause 81Clause 82Clause 83Clause 84Clause 85Clause 86Clause 87Clause 88Clause 89Clause 90Clause 91Clause 92Clause 93

This affects you if you are proposing a large infrastructure, energy, or resource project in a region the federal cabinet may designate as being in the national interest. It also affects Indigenous communities in or near those regions, and provincial or territorial governments whose territory may be designated.

• The federal cabinet (Governor in Council) can designate entire geographic regions as 'regions of national interest.' Projects of an approved type within those regions then get access to an accelerated approval process.
• For a project inside a designated region, every legal determination or finding needed to grant a permit is automatically treated as having been made in favour of allowing the project to proceed, once the Minister is satisfied the project meets the criteria.
• The Minister must issue a single document to the proponent that stands in for every required federal permit listed in that document — one document replaces multiple separate approvals.
• The Minister can add, remove, or change conditions on permits granted for national-interest projects, even for permits that were granted before the project was added to the national-interest list.
• The Governor in Council cannot designate a region or make related orders while Parliament is prorogued or dissolved.
• Before designating a region, a regional environmental assessment must have been completed under the Impact Assessment Act or applicable territorial law, and its findings must be taken into account.
• The Minister must consult affected Indigenous peoples and responsible ministers before issuing or amending any permit document.
• A public online registry of national-interest projects and designated regions must be established and maintained by the Minister.
• For nuclear projects in a designated region, the Minister must consult the CNSC and cannot act unless the CNSC confirms the action will not compromise health, safety, national security, or Canada's international obligations.

Sources in the bill: Clause 94Clause 95(1)Clause 95(2)Clause 96(1)Clause 96(2)Clause 97Clause 98(1)Clause 98(2)Clause 99Clause 100(1)Clause 100(2)Clause 100(3)Clause 101Clause 102Clause 103Clause 104Clause 105Clause 106Clause 107Clause 108Clause 109Clause 110Clause 111Clause 112Clause 113

This affects you if you are considering a legal challenge to a federal cabinet order designating a project or region as being in the national interest. Most Canadians are not directly affected.

• Challenges to federal cabinet orders about national-interest projects and designated regions must go directly to the Federal Court of Appeal (a higher court), not the Federal Court.
• Any challenge already filed in the Federal Court automatically moves to the Federal Court of Appeal when this section takes effect.

Sources in the bill: Clause 114Clause 115Clause 116Clause 117

This affects you if you are a company applying for a federal certificate to build a pipeline or power line, a landowner or community near a proposed pipeline or power line, or an Indigenous group consulted during the review of an energy project.

• Pipeline applications are split into two tracks based on how much new land the pipeline needs. Pipelines needing less than 300 km of new land get a Commission decision within 300 days. Pipelines needing 300 km or more of new land get a Commission report within 180 days, then the federal cabinet must decide within 60 days, and the Commission must issue the certificate within 125 days after that.
• Power line applications follow the same two-track system. Lines needing less than 300 km of new land get a Commission decision within 300 days. Lines needing 300 km or more get a Commission report within 180 days, a cabinet decision within 60 days, and a certificate within 125 days.
• The Commission cannot issue a permit for a new international power line that needs 75 km or more of new land. Those lines must go through the certificate process instead.
• For the shorter track (under 300 km of new land), the Commission's report is final and conclusive — it is not a decision or order subject to the normal reconsideration process.
• The Minister can extend the 300-day or 180-day report deadlines by up to 90 days if more time is needed to fulfill the Crown's duty to consult Indigenous peoples.
• Federal agencies with specialist knowledge about a required permit must share that knowledge with the Commission on request, within the time specified.
• The Commission must consider the technical, economic, and practical feasibility of any conditions before including them in an approval document.
• The Commission can now vary a certificate on its own initiative, without waiting for an application from the certificate holder.
• The Commission can revoke a certificate if the holder has breached any condition of that certificate.
• Anyone challenging a Commission report or cabinet order on a pipeline or power line must apply to the Federal Court of Appeal within 15 days of the report being made public, the order being published, or the certificate being issued.
• Applications that the regulator had already declared complete before this Division comes into force continue under the old rules.
• Hearings on setting conditions for a certificate must be held in public, in addition to hearings on issuing, suspending, or revoking a certificate.

Sources in the bill: Clause 119Clause 120Clause 121Clause 122Clause 123Clause 124Clause 125Clause 126Clause 127Clause 128Clause 129Clause 130Clause 131Clause 132Clause 133Clause 134Clause 135(1)Clause 135(2)Clause 136Clause 137(1)Clause 137(2)Clause 137(3)Clause 138Clause 139Clause 140Clause 141Clause 142(1)Clause 143Clause 144(1)Clause 145(2)Clause 146Clause 148Clause 149Clause 150Clause 151Clause 152Clause 153Clause 147Clause 154Clause 155

This affects you if you are considering a legal challenge to a federal cabinet order about a power line certificate. Most Canadians are not directly affected.

• Challenges to federal cabinet orders directing the Commission to issue or dismiss a power line certificate must go to the Federal Court of Appeal, not the Federal Court.

Sources in the bill: Clause 156

This affects you if you work for or deal directly with the Canadian Energy Regulator or the designated officer overseeing the Northern Pipeline. Almost no ordinary Canadian is affected directly.

• The federal energy regulator (Canadian Energy Regulator) can now delegate a broader set of its powers to the designated officer who oversees the Alaska Highway natural gas pipeline under the Northern Pipeline Act.
• These changes take effect on a date chosen by the federal cabinet (Governor in Council), not automatically when the bill receives royal assent.

Sources in the bill: Clause 157Clause 158

This affects you if you are building or modifying a structure — such as a bridge, dock, or pipeline crossing — on a navigable river or lake and need federal approval to do so, especially if your project is a major designated project or regulated by the Canadian Energy Regulator.

• Before the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans sets or changes conditions on a navigable-waters approval (a permit allowing a structure on a river or lake) for a major project, an energy-regulated work, or a prescribed type of work, the Minister must first consider whether those conditions are technically, economically, and practically achievable. Applications already submitted before this law takes effect are not covered by this new requirement.
• The Minister can now either grant an exemption from navigable-waters rules directly, or pass the application up to the federal cabinet (Governor in Council) to decide. Cabinet can also grant exemptions by order. The federal cabinet also gains a new power to exclude certain structures from the definition of "work" under the Act entirely, which would remove them from the Act's requirements.

Sources in the bill: Clause 159Clause 160Clause 161Clause 162

This affects you if you hold or are applying for a federal permit to dump dredged material or other waste at sea, or if your business handles, imports, or disposes of substances regulated under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 and you could be subject to an enforcement order.

• Companies applying for a permit to dispose of material at sea must now show that notice of their application was made public (not just formally published) in the way the Minister specifies. The Minister can also allow that notice to happen after the application is filed, rather than before.
• Permits can now last longer than one year if regulations allow it. The Minister can now transfer a permit to a new holder on written request from both the current and future holder. Anyone can file a formal objection to a transfer or a refusal to transfer. The Minister must publish permit renewals and transfers in the Environmental Registry (a public government database) at least seven days before they take effect.
• Before setting or changing conditions on a sea-disposal permit for a major project, an energy-regulated activity, or a prescribed activity, the Minister must consider whether those conditions are technically, economically, and practically achievable.
• Enforcement officers get broader powers to issue compliance orders. They can now order people to manage, return, remove, or destroy a regulated substance or product. They can also order record-keeping and reporting. Orders can now be issued whenever an officer has reasonable grounds to believe a violation has happened or is likely to happen — covering a wider range of activities and a wider range of people, including anyone who causes, contributes to, or is likely to contribute to a violation.

Sources in the bill: Clause 164Clause 165(1)Clause 165(2)Clause 166Clause 167Clause 168(1)Clause 168(3)Clause 169(1)Clause 169(3)Clause 170(1)Clause 170(2)Clause 173(1)Clause 173(2)Clause 173(3) and (4)Clause 173(6)Clause 173(7)Clause 174Clause 175

This affects you if you are a developer, builder, or project operator who needs a federal permit to carry out work that could affect a species protected under the Species at Risk Act, particularly for major projects or energy-regulated works.

• Before the responsible minister sets, adds, or changes conditions in a species-at-risk permit or agreement (a document allowing activity that would otherwise harm a protected species) for a major project, an energy-regulated activity, or a prescribed activity, the minister must consider whether those conditions are technically, economically, and practically achievable. Permits and agreements already in place, or applied for, before this rule takes effect are not covered.
• Species-at-risk permits issued under this section are no longer treated as statutory instruments (formal government regulations that must go through a standard publication and review process). They are now treated as administrative documents.

Sources in the bill: Clause 176Clause 177Clause 178

This affects you if you are a developer, contractor, or company that needs a federal authorization to carry out work affecting fish or fish habitat, or if you participate in the fish habitat credit system by buying, selling, or holding habitat credits.

• Before setting or changing conditions on a fish habitat authorization (a permit allowing work that harms fish or fish habitat) for a major project, an energy-regulated work, or a prescribed work, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans must consider whether those conditions are technically, economically, and practically achievable. Applications already submitted before this rule takes effect are not covered.
• Fish habitat authorizations issued under certain provisions are no longer treated as statutory instruments (formal regulations subject to standard publication and review). They are now treated as administrative documents.
• The habitat credit system (a program where developers can buy credits representing fish habitat restored elsewhere to offset harm they cause) is expanded. Credits can now be transferred to new holders. When credits are transferred, all obligations attached to those credits automatically bind the new holder. Credits can only be used to offset harm within the same defined geographic service area as the fish habitat bank that issued them.
• Fees paid by developers to offset fish habitat harm — in circumstances set by regulation — must go into the Environmental Damages Fund (a federal account) and be spent only on fish and fish habitat conservation, protection, or restoration.

Sources in the bill: Clause 179Clause 180Clause 181Clause 182Clause 183Clause 184Clause 185Clause 186Clause 187Clause 188Clause 189Clause 190Clause 191

This affects you if you are a company or developer proposing a transportation project — such as a road, rail line, port, or airport — that needs multiple federal approvals but does not trigger a full federal environmental assessment.

• The Minister of Transport gets a new power to coordinate all the federal approvals (permits, licences, and other decisions required under federal law) needed for a transportation project, and to coordinate consultations with Indigenous groups related to those projects and approvals.
• The Minister can set up a transportation project office staffed by Transport Canada employees to run that coordination and act as a single point of contact for project proponents. The Minister can cancel or suspend any staff designation at any time and for any reason, and can delegate these coordination powers to another person in writing. This office applies only to transportation projects that do not require a full federal impact assessment and are not already designated as national interest projects under the Building Canada Act.

Sources in the bill: Clause 192Clause 193

This affects you if you ship goods by rail in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, or Alberta; if you are buying or selling a transportation business at a Canadian port; if you work in a role that requires access to secure transportation facilities; or if you are a railway company planning to build new track.

• The federal government adds supply-chain efficiency as an official goal of Canada's national transportation policy.
• The Minister of Transport gets power to designate any geographic area as a trade corridor and must publish each corridor's description publicly.
• A new National Trade Corridors Council is created. It monitors goods movement, investigates disruptions, and makes recommendations to the Minister.
• Council members are appointed by the Minister for renewable terms of up to three years, with a nine-year maximum. Each member must hold a Government of Canada security clearance.
• The federal cabinet (Governor in Council) can set performance targets for goods movement in trade corridors. The Council measures results against those targets.
• The Minister gets power to make regulations that put international transportation standards into Canadian law. Those regulations are treated as if they were the original transportation regulation for enforcement purposes, including fines.
• Trucking companies that carry freight and bus companies that carry passengers are removed from the merger-review notice requirement under the Canada Transportation Act.
• Buyers of transportation businesses located inside a port must now notify both the Minister and the Competition Commissioner before completing a deal if the assets or revenues involved exceed $10 million. Completing the deal without approval is prohibited.
• The Competition Commissioner must report competition concerns to the Minister and the parties within 150 days of being notified of a covered deal.
• The Minister must tell the parties within 42 days if a proposed deal raises no public-interest concerns. If the Minister gives that notice, the full review process does not apply.
• Railway companies building new lines no longer need Agency approval if the line has already received a decision statement under the Impact Assessment Act. Port terminals are declared works for the general advantage of Canada, placing them under federal jurisdiction.
• A new security clearance system is created for the transportation sector. The Minister of Transport can grant, suspend, or cancel clearances. RCMP, CSIS, and CBSA can share information with the Minister to support this. Violating security clearance regulations can result in a fine of up to $100,000.

Sources in the bill: Clause 194Clause 196Clause 197Clause 198Clause 199Clause 200Clause 201(1)Clause 201(2)Clause 201(3)Clause 201(4)Clause 202(1)Clause 202(2)Clause 203Clause 204Clause 205Clause 206Clause 207Clause 208(1)Clause 208(3)Clause 209Clause 211(1)Clause 211(3)Clause 211(5)Clause 212Clause 213

This affects you if you use a Canadian port to import or export goods, if you sit on a port authority board, if you are an Indigenous community near a port, if you operate facilities at a port, or if you ship goods through the St. Lawrence Seaway.

• Port authorities get a broader legal mandate. They must now also promote supply-chain efficiency and resilience, inter-port connectivity, and Canada's economic competitiveness.
• Port authorities must take input from Indigenous peoples when managing marine infrastructure and services, in addition to users and the community.
• Each port authority must establish an Indigenous advisory committee, consult it at least once a year on port activities, and publish meeting minutes on its website.
• Port authority directors must each obtain and maintain a Government of Canada security clearance.
• Directors serve renewable terms of up to three years. The Minister can direct the board to elect a new chairperson at any time. The outgoing chairperson stays on as a director until their term ends.
• Each director must be evaluated annually. The chairperson must send an annual report on those evaluations to the Minister.
• Port authorities can now create special purpose entities (separate companies) to carry out port or related activities, including on land outside port limits. Those entities are not agents of the federal Crown and their debts are not federal debts.
• Port authorities must submit a borrowing plan to the Minister at least every three years and a five-year business plan within three months after each fiscal year end. Both must cover any special purpose entities.
• When preparing a business plan or land-use plan, a port authority must consult the new National Trade Corridors Council.
• Port authorities must develop a land-use plan within 12 months of receiving their letters patent (founding document) and update it at least every five years. A draft must be posted online at least 60 days before it takes effect, with a public comment period.
• Port fees must follow a published methodology, be fair and reasonable, allow the port to be financially self-sustaining, and not discriminate unjustly among users. Volume-based discounts are explicitly allowed.
• Anyone who commented on a proposed fee can file a complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency (the federal transport regulator) within 30 days of the fee decision. Filing a complaint does not stop the fee from taking effect. The Agency can order a fee cancelled, reinstated, or refunded if the complaint is upheld.
• The Canadian Navigable Waters Act no longer applies to works inside a port. Port authorities now authorize construction of works in their navigable waters instead of the federal Minister.
• The Seaway operator (the not-for-profit corporation that runs the St. Lawrence Seaway) must ensure uninterrupted and safe Seaway operation consistent with Canada's international obligations and national security.
• The federal cabinet can appoint an administrator to take over the Seaway operator for up to two years (extendable to three) if the operator cannot or will not perform its duties, poses a risk to safe operation, or acts against the public interest. During that period, the board and members lose their powers.
• The Minister of Transport can unilaterally terminate the Seaway operating agreement despite any agreement terms. The operator must immediately transfer all Crown property and data to the Minister. Disputes over transfer terms go to arbitration; the Federal Court has exclusive jurisdiction.
• The Minister can order port authorities, Seaway operators, or port facility operators to take corrective action or stop an activity if there is an imminent and serious threat to safety, supply-chain security, national security, or Canada's international obligations. This power cannot be used to end a strike or impose a labour settlement.

Sources in the bill: 215(1)215(2)216217(2)218(1)218(2)218(3)218(4)218(5)218(6)219(1)-(2)219(3)220221222223224225(1)225(2)225(3)225(4)225(5)226(1)226(2)226(4)-(5)Clause 227Clause 228Clause 229Clause 230(1)Clause 230(2)Clause 231(1)Clause 231(2)Clause 232Clause 233Clause 234Clause 235Clause 236(1)Clause 236(2)Clause 236(4)Clause 237(1)Clause 237(2)Clause 238Clause 239Clause 241Clause 242Clause 243Clause 244Clause 245Clause 246Clause 247Clause 248Clause 249Clause 250

This affects you if you hold an existing federal authorization for a structure in a port, or if you are a port authority adjusting to the new governance rules.

• The Port Authorities Operations Regulations now apply to navigable waters of a port, works and activities in a port, and property managed by a port authority. Port authorities can now authorize construction of works in their navigable waters without needing federal approval under the Canadian Navigable Waters Act.
• Existing terms and conditions imposed by the Minister of Transport on works in a port are treated as if the port authority had imposed them. Existing federal authorizations for works in a port are treated as if the port authority had granted them. No one needs to reapply.
• The new fee principles and complaint rules for port fees do not apply to fees that were already set before those provisions come into force. Complaints already filed under the old rules continue under the old rules.
• Several provisions come into force on dates set by the federal cabinet rather than automatically. These include the new director requirements, Indigenous advisory committee rules, land-use plan schedules, and the requirement to consult the National Trade Corridors Council.

Sources in the bill: Clause 251Clause 252Clause 253Clause 254Clause 255Clause 256Clause 257Clause 258Clause 259Clause 260(1)Clause 260(2)Clause 260(3)

This affects you if your business physically receives hazardous or noxious cargo at a Canadian port, if you own or operate a ship in Canadian waters, or if you have a claim for pollution damage from a marine incident.

• A 'receiver' of hazardous and noxious substances (HNS) is now defined as a person who physically receives that cargo at a Canadian port or terminal. Only physical receivers have reporting and record-keeping obligations.
• Receivers must keep records of the type and quantity of HNS received and retain those records for six years. They must also keep proof of any payments made to the international HNS Fund (the international compensation fund for hazardous cargo spills). Records must be available to government inspectors at all reasonable times.
• Government inspectors can enter premises, examine anything there, and take away documents for up to 21 days. Inspectors must carry and show a certificate of designation. Documents taken must be returned within 21 days unless a court allows more time.
• Obstructing an inspector or knowingly giving false information to an inspector is prohibited.
• Claimants for pollution damage under the Marine Liability Act are now entitled to interest on their claims. The interest rate is the same rate the Canada Revenue Agency pays on tax refunds.
• Ships can now be named directly as parties to violations, not just the people who operate them. A person in charge of a ship who directed or participated in a violation is personally liable as well.
• Penalties for violations of HNS reporting and record-keeping rules can reach $250,000 per violation for companies and ships, and $50,000 for individuals. Falsifying or omitting entries in required records is a separate offence with a maximum fine of $250,000.
• If a person or ship does not comply with an assurance of compliance (a written promise to fix a violation), the penalty doubles automatically on service of a notice of default.
• The Minister may keep a public record of violations and defaults. That record must be removed five years after all penalties are paid, unless the Minister decides removal is not in the public interest and gives written reasons.
• The Deputy Administrator of the Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund can stay in office after their term ends until a replacement is appointed.

Sources in the bill: 261(1)261(2)261(3)261(4)261(6)261(7)261(8)262(1)262(2)264(1)264(2)264(3)264(4)264(5)265266267269(1)269(2)270(1)-(3)270(4)270(5)270(6)271(1)272Clause 273(1)Clause 274(1)Clause 274(2)Clause 275Clause 276Clause 277(2)Clause 278Clause 279(1)Clause 279(2)Clause 280Clause 281Clause 282(1)Clause 282(2)-(3)Clause 283Clause 284(1)Clause 284(2)-(3)Clause 284(2)Clause 284(4)285286287288

This affects you if you own or operate a foreign ship that might be called on to assist during a declared emergency in Canada, or if you coordinate emergency response involving marine transport.

• Foreign ships and ships that have not paid Canadian customs duties are normally prohibited from carrying cargo or passengers between Canadian ports without a licence. This bill creates a new exemption during declared emergencies.
• The exemption applies when an emergency is declared under the federal Emergencies Act or a provincial or territorial emergency law. It lasts for up to 30 days or until the declaration ends, whichever comes first. The Minister can extend it by order, repeatedly, in 30-day increments.
• A ship already working under the exemption when it expires can finish the job it started without a licence.
• Ship owners relying on the exemption must tell an enforcement officer what activity the ship is doing, in the form and manner the Minister specifies, before the ship starts work. If the exemption is extended, the owner must update that information.

Sources in the bill: Clause 289

This affects you if you are an ocean shipping line that participates in a shipping conference serving Canadian ports, or if you are an importer or exporter whose shipping rates are set through such a conference.

• The Shipping Conferences Exemption Act, 1987 is repealed in full. That Act allowed groups of ocean shipping companies (called shipping conferences) to coordinate prices, routes, and capacity without being subject to Canada's competition law. That exemption no longer exists. Shipping conference agreements are now subject to the Competition Act like any other business arrangement.

Sources in the bill: Clause 290

This affects you if you have ever requested government records related to shipping conference agreements and been refused. For almost everyone, this change has no practical effect.

• Removes a rule that blocked government from releasing records obtained under the Shipping Conferences Exemption Act, 1987. Those records can now be disclosed under normal access-to-information rules.
• This affects almost no one directly. It is a housekeeping change removing an old secrecy carve-out tied to a narrow shipping-industry law.

Sources in the bill: Clause 291

This affects you if your company builds, alters, owns, or operates a bridge or tunnel crossing the Canada-US border. It also affects you if you import or export goods and use shipping documents such as bills of lading, sea waybills, or similar trade papers — you will be able to use digital versions of those documents under federal law.

• Companies wanting to alter an international bridge or tunnel must now apply to the Minister (the federal cabinet minister responsible), not directly to the federal cabinet (the Governor in Council). The Minister can approve alterations directly or pass the application to cabinet.
• The Minister can attach conditions to any alteration approval and can change, remove, or add conditions later. Breaking those conditions is a criminal offence.
• The Minister must publish every approval, including all conditions and any changes to them, in the Canada Gazette (the official federal public notice journal).
• The same new two-step process applies to buying, selling, or transferring ownership of an international bridge or tunnel. All applications go to the Minister first.
• The Minister can now issue, amend, or revoke the corporate charter (letters patent) for a company set up to build or run a border crossing. Cabinet approval is no longer needed, but the Minister must first get sign-off from the President of the Treasury Board and the Minister of Finance on financial provisions.
• The Minister can delegate any of these new powers to another person by written authorization.
• Federal law now treats electronic trade documents (digital shipping papers such as bills of lading) the same as paper ones, as long as five conditions are met: the document contains the required information, can be reliably told apart from copies, is under reliable control from creation to expiry, is protected against unauthorized changes, and states if it replaced a paper original.
• Switching from paper to electronic (or back) is allowed using a reliable method. Once switched, the old version is automatically made inoperative and has no further legal effect.
• An electronic trade document cannot be rejected as invalid just because it is digital, or just because it was issued or used in another country.
• Electronic signatures, electronic possession, electronic endorsements, and electronic amendments all satisfy federal law requirements if a reliable method is used for each.
• Importers and exporters can send required customs and trade information to the government electronically, using the means the Minister specifies by order. The government can also send documents back electronically. These electronic exchanges override any federal rule requiring physical paper.
• Government departments can share import and export information with each other if the receiving department is legally permitted to collect it, even if another federal law would normally block that sharing.

Sources in the bill: Clause 292Clause 293Clause 294Clause 295Clause 296Clause 297Clause 298Clause 299Clause 300Clause 301s. 8(1)s. 8(2)-(3)s. 9s. 10s. 11s. 12s. 13(1)s. 13(2)s. 14s. 3s. 4s. 5s. 6s. 7s. 15s. 16s. 17s. 18s. 19s. 20s. 21s. 22s. 23s. 24s. 25s. 26s. 27(1)s. 27(2)s. 27(3)s. 303

This affects you if you work for, or run, a federally regulated business — such as a bank, airline, railway, port, or telecommunications company — and your workplace has a union. It especially affects you if your current collective agreement was reached after a strike or lockout, was imposed by a third party, or runs five years or more, because you will face new bargaining deadlines and a wage freeze starting 200 days before the contract expires.

• Unions and employers whose last contract resulted from an imposed settlement, involved a strike or lockout, or runs five years or more must start bargaining earlier — between 200 and 180 days before the contract expires (roughly six to seven months out). They must notify the Minister of Labour and the Canada Industrial Relations Board (the federal labour tribunal) in writing before the first meeting.
• From the 200th day before expiry, employers covered by the early-bargaining rule are frozen: they cannot change wages, benefits, or any other working condition without the union's consent, until the legal conditions for a strike or lockout are met.
• Both sides must engage with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (a government office that helps labour disputes) without delay after giving written notice. They must bargain in good faith and make every reasonable effort to reach a deal.
• Conciliation officers (neutral helpers appointed by the Minister) now have a fixed 90-day window to assist the parties, or longer if both sides agree. Conciliation boards and commissioners must report within 90 days. If no report arrives, the Minister is automatically treated as having received it at the 90-day mark.
• The Minister can appoint a special mediator (a new role) at any point up to the 75th day after a conciliation officer or board is appointed. The special mediator has 21 days to work with the parties and must report to the Minister. The Minister must share that report with the parties and make it public, removing only personal information or confidential business details. Appointing a special mediator does not pause the right to strike or lock out.
• Before the Minister can order workers back or impose a settlement during a strike or lockout, the Minister must have read the special mediator's report and must be of the opinion that the dispute adversely affects or may adversely affect the national interest. This is a new precondition that did not exist before.
• For first collective agreements (a union's very first contract with an employer), if no deal is reached within nine months of the notice to bargain, either side can apply to the Board for a binding settlement. The Board must issue that order. A binding order suspends the right to strike or lock out.
• Within six months of signing, renewing, or revising a contract that followed an imposed settlement or a strike or lockout, the Minister must appoint a mediator to help the parties improve their relationship. Both sides must meet with that mediator.
• When a service contract changes hands at an airport or in other prescribed industries (contractor succession), the new service provider automatically inherits the union, the collective agreement, and any pending labour proceedings from the previous provider. Workers do not lose their union representation just because the contract switches companies.
• The Board can now certify a single union to represent workers across multiple employers in the long-shoring industry or other industries designated by regulation — even without a union application — if the employers share a common pool of workers.
• Newly certified unions must send a copy of their certification order to the Minister without delay. The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service must then engage with both sides to help reach a first contract.
• Trade unions that declare or authorize an illegal strike face fines up to $1,000 per day. Union officers or representatives who personally authorize an illegal strike face fines up to $10,000. These penalties mirror existing fines for employers who cause illegal lockouts.
• The Board's power to order compliance or compensation is extended to cover breaches of the new early-bargaining rules, the employer wage freeze, and the good-faith bargaining duty. The government can also set financial penalties (administrative monetary penalties) for those breaches by regulation, and can require public naming of violators.

Sources in the bill: Clause 304(1)Clause 304(2)Clause 305Clause 306Clause 307(1)Clause 307(2)Clause 308Clause 309Clause 310(1)Clause 310(2)Clause 310(3)Clause 311Clause 312Clause 313Clause 314Clause 315Clause 316Clause 317Clause 318Clause 319Clause 320Clause 321Clause 322Clause 323Clause 324Clause 325Clause 326Clause 327Clause 328Clause 329Clause 330(1)Clause 330(2)Clause 331Clause 332Clause 333Clause 334Clause 335Clause 336(2)Clause 336(3)Clause 337(1)Clause 337(2)Clause 337(3)Clause 338Clause 339Clause 340Clause 341(1)Clause 341(2)Clause 341(3)

This affects you if you are a union representative or an employer's labour relations officer who files documents with the Canada Industrial Relations Board (the federal labour tribunal). The change is procedural — it updates which form and which notice document you must attach.

• Complaints about breaches of the new early-bargaining rules (section 50.1), applications for a binding first-contract settlement, and ministerial referrals to the Board must now be filed using the Board's standard Form 14.
• Applications for certain Board orders must now include a copy of the new early-bargaining notice (given under subsection 50.1(2)) instead of, or in addition to, the standard notice to bargain.

Sources in the bill: Clause 342Clause 343

This affects you if you are a union or employer in a federally regulated industry filing a notice of dispute with the Minister of Labour. It is a procedural update to match the new bargaining timelines introduced elsewhere in this bill.

• When the new early-bargaining rule applies, the date shown on a notice of dispute must be the date from the early-bargaining notice (given under subsection 50.1(2)), not the date of the original notice to bargain.
• The document attached to a notice of dispute must be a copy of the early-bargaining notice, not the standard notice to bargain, when the early-bargaining rule applies.

Sources in the bill: Clause 344(1)Clause 344(2)

This affects you if you are a union or employer in a federally regulated industry whose collective agreement is expiring soon or whose bargaining is already underway when this bill comes into force. The transition rules determine whether the old or new bargaining process applies to your situation.

• Pay equity plans (workplace plans that ensure equal pay for work of equal value) cannot be changed without union consent once the new employer wage freeze under subsection 50.1(5) kicks in — the same protection that already applied under the existing bargaining freeze.
• Parties whose collective agreement has fewer than 200 days left when the new rules take effect are not subject to the new early-bargaining requirements. Their old rules continue to apply for that contract cycle.
• Conciliation procedures already underway when the new rules take effect continue under the old rules. New procedures started after that date follow the new 90-day timelines.
• First-contract disputes already referred to the Board under the old law continue under the old law. Parties can switch to the new first-contract process only if, on or after the transition date, at least nine months have passed since they gave notice to bargain.
• The new post-bargaining mediation requirement (the Minister appointing a mediator within six months of a deal) applies only to contracts signed, renewed, or revised on or after the transition date.
• Any action the Minister took under the old back-to-work power (section 107) before the transition date, and any proceedings that follow from it, continue under the old rules.

Sources in the bill: Clause 345Clause 347(1)Clause 347(2)Clause 347(3)Clause 347(4)Clause 347(5)Clause 347(6)

This affects you if you work for a federally regulated employer (such as a bank, airline, or interprovincial trucking company) and have filed a wage complaint, if you are such an employer, if you are a director of a corporation that employs federally regulated workers, or if your business owes money to an employer who has an unpaid wage settlement.

• Employers who settle a wage complaint in writing must pay the agreed amount to the employee or to the Head (the federal labour enforcement official) by the date written in the settlement.
• The Head gains a new power to issue a written settlement enforcement order requiring an employer — or a corporate director personally — to pay any amount still outstanding after a missed settlement deadline. Employers who receive such an order also face an administrative fee equal to the greater of $200 or 15% of the amount owed. Neither the employer nor the employee can challenge this order through the normal review or appeal process. A corporate director can challenge it only on the narrow ground that they are not personally liable under the relevant director-liability rule.
• Anyone who owes money to a non-paying employer or director can receive an order to debtor requiring them to pay that debt directly to the Head within 15 days, up to the amount the employer or director owes.
• After 15 days, the Head or anyone affected can file a settlement enforcement order in Federal Court, at which point it carries the same legal weight as a court judgment and can be enforced like one. These rules take effect 180 days after royal assent and do not apply to settlements already reached before that date.

Sources in the bill: Clause 348Clause 349Clause 350(1)Clause 350(2)Clause 351Clause 352(1)Clause 352(2)Clause 353Clause 355Clause 356

This affects you if you are a unionized employee or an employer covered by a collective agreement in a federally regulated industry — for example, banking, telecommunications, or interprovincial transport — where the agreement already includes paid sick leave and a grievance or arbitration process.

• Unionized workers and their employers are excluded from the Canada Labour Code's paid medical leave rules if their collective agreement already gives workers paid medical leave that is at least as good, and if the agreement lets a neutral third party settle any disputes about it. In that case, the collective agreement governs exclusively.
• The paid medical leave rules come into force on a date chosen by the federal cabinet (the Governor in Council), not on a fixed date.

Sources in the bill: Clause 357Clause 358

This affects you if you are owed unpaid wages by an employer that has gone bankrupt or entered insolvency proceedings, and you are considering applying for a government payment under the Wage Earner Protection Program.

• The program now covers only workers whose employer permanently shuts down. A business that keeps running under new ownership or a changed legal structure is not treated as having permanently ended, so workers there do not qualify. To qualify, you must have worked for the legal entity within six months before it filed for insolvency protection, went bankrupt, or had a receiver (a court-appointed person who takes control of assets) appointed.
• The Minister of Labour can now review and change an eligibility decision on their own initiative — without waiting for a worker to ask — and must pay any amount the worker becomes entitled to as a result of that change.

Sources in the bill: Clause 359(1)Clause 359(2)Clause 360Clause 361