Summer Recess and Scheer Hypocrisy: What Bill C-5 Really Means
Tonight, on the debut episode of ADAMS TONIGHT, we’re pulling no punches. Bill C-5 passed with Conservative support—and it wasn’t to “get work done.” It was to go on vacation. While Andrew Scheer and the CPC scream on social media about Carney's dangerous legislation, they quietly voted to give him the tools to ram it through unchallenged.
In this episode, we break down everything you need to know about Bill C-5, how it fast-tracks legislation with zero debate, and why the Conservative Party’s performative outrage is nothing but hot air. If you're tired of politicians who talk tough but fold behind the scenes, this one’s for you.
New name, same wave. Let’s get into it
Transcript:
[00:03-00:28] Will Adams
Greetings, all who may be listening. I'm Will Adams, and tonight, we're looking at Bill C5, officially titled the One Canadian Economy Act, which includes the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act and the Building Canada Act. This bill just passed on June 20th with very little public attention, and i think that's a problem
[00:29-00:53] Will Adams
Because behind all the language about streamlining and national interest is a dangerous precedent. This bill takes democratic oversight, the bedrock of good governance, and quite literally the foundation of this country, and pushes it aside. So let's dive into what this bill actually does and why every Canadian should be paying attention
[00:54-01:20] Mark Carney
This is what unlocks the potential of our country, in partnership. this is what makes us different from the United States. This is what will make us more independent from the United States. This is what's going to move us forward, all coming together in a broad range of nation-building projects. This bill unlocks that, yes it unlocks it in quick time, but in quick time because we are in a crisis
[01:20-01:51] Will Adams
Bill C5 is split into two parts; on its face, it seems simple enough remove internal trade barriers promote labor mobility and fast track nationally significant infrastructure projects but part two the building canada act is where it really gets troubling: "the governor in council may by regulation designate a project if the governor in council is of the opinion that the project is in the national interest"
[01:52-02:01] Will Adams
In plain language, the federal cabinet can declare any project to be in the national interest and once they do all the normal checks and balances are overridden
[02:01-02:22] Will Adams
Impact assessments? Deemed done. Environmental reviews? Deemed satisfied. Public consultation? That becomes optional at best. This isn't just the Carney Liberals cutting tape, it's cutting parliament, indigenous peoples, and the Canadian public from decisions that could shape our environment, our economy, and our future
[02:22-02:42] Will Adams
Here's how it plays out: Cabinet designates a project, let's say a major pipeline or a massive development deal, then, and I'm quoting the bill again here,
"determinations and findings that have been made for an authorization to be granted are deemed to have been made in favour of permitting the project."
[02:42-03:17] Will Adams
Essentially, they're saying if we say it's approved, then it's approved. Even if no one looked at the facts. The Carney liberals are framing this as moving the slog along. I'm gonna call it what it actually is, a loophole big enough to drive a truck through.
Or maybe a bulldozer if we're being literal. Yes, the bill promises annual
independent reviews of these national interest projects, but by the time problems are found, the damage could be already long done at that point.
[03:17-03:50] Will Adams
we've seen what happens when government's shortcut process; SNC Lavalin, the we charity, Bayless Medical, and Greenbelt deals. Every one of those started with someone saying to just trust us. Democracy is not a nuisance; it's how we protect the public interest, it's how we prevent shady contracts, environmental disasters, and communities getting steamrolled literally and politically. This bill gives Cabinet the power to avoid transparency with just four words: it's in the national interest.
[03:50-04:04] Will Adams
This is not the responsible governance that Mark Carney was elected to deliver; this is unchecked executive power, and if we truly care about building a better Canada, we should be doing that with more oversight, not less.
[04:04-04:18] Will Adams
A nd here's where all of this goes from disappointing to downright insulting. This bill, this massive expansion of executive power was fast tracked through parliament, so members of parliament could leave for summer break.
[04:20-04:36]
i am not joking. The house passed it on June 20th, which was the last day parliament was in session. They didn't want to stick around to properly debate it, they wanted to go home. Even more frustrating? the Conservatives helped it pass
[04:36-04:51] Mark Carney
This is us being in charge of our destiny. That's why we pushed it, and I want to give full credit to all the members of the house who supported this bill, including the Conservative Party, who stood up and supported it because they recognized the importance of doing it.
[04:51-05:18] Will Adams
The same Conservatives who are constantly talking about transparency, about government overreach, about red tape. The same party that's trying to brand
themselves as defenders of ordinary Canadians against a bloated state. The same conservatives that pound their fists every single time the Liberals do something bad. They voted for this bill because they didn't want to delay their vacation.
[05:19-05:32] Andrew Scheer
Well Liberals certainly shouldn't be giving themselves a gold star or a pat on the back for a piece of legislation that really just gives them the ability to get around their own barriers to project development.
[05:34-05:46] Andrew Scheer
This government continues to double down on the failed Trudeau policies that devastated our energy sector, Mark Carney has decided to keep the oil and gas production cap in place.
[05:46-05:48] Andrew Scheer
He's decided to keep the industrial carbon tax in place, which puts our steel and aluminum workers at a massive disadvantage when it comes to competing against their American competitors.
[05:59-06:35] Andrew Scheer
He has kept in place the shipping ban—the ban on shipping Canadian oil and gas into new markets in Asia. So there is still a lot of skepticism in the canadian energy sector about whether or not this bill will actually lead to results, and that is where Canadians should judge this government. Not in the theatrics and not in the rhetoric, we've seen that from liberal governments for ten years, this is a 10 year old Liberal government that continues to double down on these on these failed Trudeau policies.
[06:35-06:53] Will Adams
This is entitlement. Deep, baked in, Ottawa bubble entitlement. You cannot posture all session about protecting democracy and then vote to give cabinet the power to skip due processjust because you want a head start on your summer barbecues.
[06:54-07:51] Andrew Scheer
Conservatives work very hard on C-5 to put protections in place Mark Carney is someone who has a lot of conflicts of interest, in fact, government officials acknowledge that they are quote having to manage the ethics screen to deal with all his conflicts of interest. And when he proposed this bill in parliament, he tried to give himself the power to get around the conflict of interest laws. Laws that prevent Liberal politicians from funneling cash into the pockets of liberal insiders, or worse, into companies that Liberal politicians own assets in. Conservatives worked very hard to put those protections in place to make sure that that can't happen, so our team worked incredibly hard over the last few days to put those types of protections in place, to beef up the transparency and accountability. but once again, I believe Canadians will judge Mark Carney on the results whether or not things actually get done
[07:51-08:43] Will Adams
You cannot do that, especially when let's be honest—parliament barely even sat this year at all! We had a federal government that was functionally on autopilot for months. Policy files stalled, crisis after crisis was met with silence. Now
with fires to put out on trade, affordability, climate, housing, the bare minimum should be staying in Ottawa to do the job instead most mps are acting like they just wrapped up an exhausting backbreaking year of service and need a break which let's be serious for a second the public has been working harder than parliament has families are struggling with the cost of living young people can't afford rent indigenous communities are still waiting on basic luxuries like clean drinking water and in the middle of that Ottawa sits here and says, "Nah we'll circle back next time, we'll come back in September!"
[08:44-09:03] Will Adams
No. You don't get to do that. Not when you just helped pass a bill the exact kind of scrutiny you're supposed to provide. Not when canadians are expected to work hard,hustle, and sacrifice while elected officials rubber stamp power grabs and skip town.
[09:03-09:04] Will Adams
if anything, parliament should be working overtime right now. You've got a backlog of files, an erosion of public trust, and a legislative calendar that's been left to collect dust.
[09:14-09:32] Will Adams
the truth of the matter is Canadians aren't just frustrated with policy, they're fed up with process. With the way decisions are made behind closed doors. With the way members of parliament treat accountability like it's a little inconvenience to avoid instead of the bare minimum of responsibility.
[09:32-09:42] Will Adams
Bill C-5 is now law. And like most bad laws, it didn't happen with fanfare, it happened quietly, quickly, conveniently.
[09:42-09:56] Will Adams
This isn't a matter of left versus right, this is a matter of democracy versus executive overreach. If we let governments side step accountability, we can't be surprised when they make decisions that hurt people and the planet.
[09:56-10:16] Will Adams
So here's the ask; pay attention, demand better. If your MP voted for this bill without asking for your opinion? Hold them to account. We can build a better Canada, but it has to be built the right way, not like this. I'm Will Adams, this is ADAMS TONIGHT, thank you for listening.
