Bill C-5: Now What? – First Peoples Law
July 24, 2025
Prime Minister Carney made it clear last week when he met with Indigenous leaders that he doesn’t intend to make changes to Bill C-5.
While his government has said it will ‘consult’ with Indigenous Peoples over the summer, because he won’t amend the legislation, this is more political damage control than real consultation.
So now what?
For decades First Nations and the Crown argued in court over whether federal and provincial governments can rely on existing review processes (usually environmental assessments) to fulfill the duty to consult, or whether there is a requirement for custom built processes specially designed to fulfill the duty to consult. The Crown won. The courts said they could rely on their existing processes.
