The opposition is growing:11 organizations seek to intervene in CQDE lawsuit against Bill C-5 – David Suzuki Foundation
April 27, 2026
Eleven environmental, scientific, medical and human rights organizations from across Canada are seeking leave to intervene in the legal action brought by the Quebec Environmental Law Centre (CQDE) against the federal Building Canada Act (passed as Bill C-5).
In its lawsuit against this law — passed under closure in June 2025 despite strong opposition from environmental groups, Indigenous communities and civil society — the CQDE condemns the granting of excessive and highly discretionary powers to the federal executive. The organization also warns against the risk of circumventing environmental laws in the name of an undefined “national interest.”
By asking the courts for permission to intervene in this case, Amnesty International, the Association des biologistes du Québec, the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, Équiterre, Greenpeace Canada, the Trottier Energy Institute, the David Suzuki Foundation, MiningWatch Canada, Nature Québec, SNAP Québec and the Regroupement des organismes environnementaux en énergie intend to support the CQDE’s initiative.
