What is ‘national interest’? Major projects law still hasn’t defined it

The Building Canada Act allows the government to identify projects in the 'national interest' for faster approval processes, which could include some legal exemptions.

The federal government still has not issued specific criteria to define the “national interest” under its new major projects law, despite calls from MPs to do so.

The Building Canada Act allows the government to identify projects in the “national interest” for faster approval processes, which could include exemptions from certain environmental laws.

As the government rushed the bill through the House of Commons in June, MPs studying it at the committee stage amended it to suggest that the government offer its criteria for determining which projects are in the national interest, and to require it to issue a timeline for when that might happen.

The amendment was moved by the Conservatives and narrowly passed on a 5-4 vote, with the Liberals opposing it.

In response, Privy Council President Dominic LeBlanc tabled a report in the House on Sept. 26 saying the government had not defined “national interest.” The report did not say when, or if, the government would offer a definition.

“The Government has not made an order to prescribe the definition of national interest, and this report fulfils the legislative reporting requirement,” the brief report says.

The Building Canada Act does list five criteria the government can consider in deciding which projects get the fast-track treatment — but the government isn’t bound to them.

Those criteria include whether a project provides economic benefits to Canada, advances the interests of Indigenous peoples, or contributes to Canada’s climate change goals.