The CQDE co-leads call to withdraw anti-democratic exemption powers from Bill C-15

Letter to Federal Parliamentarians to Remove “Henry the VIII” Exemption Powers from Budget Bill C-15.

More than a hundred prominent law and human rights experts, labour, sector leaders and civil society organizations warn the proposed amendments to the Red Tape Reduction Act in Bill C-15 set Canada on a dangerous anti-democratic track.

Dear Members of Parliament:

The resilience of Canadian democracy and the rule of law is not unshakeable. It is fragile and precious, and it is arguably the most pivotal tool we can wield to protect ourselves and our communities when both our sovereignty and economy are under threat. Yet, Bill C-15, which the federal government has espoused as its answer to the economic attacks that Canada is facing, contains a major threat to the very constitutional underpinning that ensures a thriving democratic governance system.

Buried on page 300 of a more than 600-page long budget implementation bill is a constitutional abomination. Part 5, Division 5 of this bill introduces draconian powers that allow federal ministers to exempt any individual, company or government (including its own federal departments) from the application of any federal law or regulation. No legislation is safe, except the Criminal Code. Not our labour standards. Not our health and safety regulations. Not laws that uphold Indigenous rights and sovereignty. Not environmental protection laws. And not even laws that protect our security and privacy.

These “Henry the VIII” powers — which refer to the ability of the executive (here, ministers) to unilaterally change an act of Parliament — are an affront to the separation of powers: the constitutional architecture that ensures a system where Parliament makes laws, the executive implements them, and the courts interpret them. This balance is a hallmark of a thriving Canadian democracy and one that will define how we as a country resist a troubling trend of democratic decline that we observe around the world.

As many legal experts asserted in testimonies and submissions in the Parliamentary and Senate committee hearings on Bill C-15, the proposed changes to the Red Tape Reduction Act cannot be characterized as “regulatory sandboxing.” They are in fact a dramatic departure from the common regulatory sandbox approach in Canadian law, which temporarily creates targeted, tightly controlled and highly transparent environments that enable the testing of new technologies to better understand their impacts — including how to regulate them. If passed, the amended Red Tape Reduction Act would introduce vague and overbroad notions like “competitiveness” and “economic growth” as legitimate reasons for exemptions from any Act of Parliament. Left for the interpretation of the minister that wants to wield them, these terms can mean anything.

These exemption powers do not streamline regulation — they dynamite the rule of law itself by creating a two-tier legislative system whereby laws debated and enacted by Parliament can be suspended for political convenience with little to no accountability or transparency.

We call on you to stand up for Canada’s democratic tradition and advocate for the removal of Part 5, Division 5 of Bill C-15. These powers, if passed, have the potential to undermine decades of law-making by Parliament and suspend laws that were intentionally designed by you and your colleagues — past and present — to protect our families, our public health, our security, the air that we breathe, our iconic endangered species, and issues that your constituents cherish. They will set Canada on the wrong path toward a weaker Parliamentary democracy, with potentially catastrophic implications.

We urge you to stand up for the Parliament and people you serve. Stand up for the rule of law. Stand up for the constitutional order that can protect our democracy.

Remove Part 5, Division 5 from Bill C-15.

List of signatories:

1. Canadian Civil Liberties Association
2. CQDE – Centre québécois du droit de l’environnement
3. Ecojustice
4. David Asper – Centre for Constitutional Rights
5. Canadian Labour Congress
6. Alex Neve, O.C., Senior Fellow, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa
7. Jennifer Quaid, Professeure titulaire, Section de droit civil, Université d’Ottawa
8. Human Rights Watch
9. Canadian Public Health Association
10. International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group
11. Iranian Canadian Legal Professionals (ICLP)
12. Democracy Watch
13. Jamie Cameron, Professor Emerita
14. James L Turk, Director, Centre for Free Expression
15. Penelope Simons, Professor, Common Law and Director of the Human Rights Research and Education Centre
16. Ladan Mehranvar, Senior Legal Researcher, Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
17. Egale Canada
18. National Farmers Union
19. Arab Canadian Lawyers Association
20. Action cancer du sein du Québec
21. BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association
22. West Coast Environmental Law Association
23. Dr. Angela Cameron, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa Canadian
24. Environmental Law Association
25. Équiterre
26. Alain Branchaud, Directeur général, SNAP Québec
27. East Coast Environmental Law
28. Grand Riverkeeper Labrador
29. Legal Advocates for Nature’s Defence
30. David Suzuki Foundation
31. Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment – Ontario Committee
32. Environmental Defence Canada
33. Canadian Council for Refugees
34. Greenpeace Canada
35. Caroline Brouillette, Climate Action Network Canada
36. Nature Canada
37. Travailleuses et travailleurs pour la justice climatique / Workers for climate justice
38. Laurence Guénette, Ligue des droits et libertés
39. OpenMedia
40. Gavin Pitchford, CEO, Delta Management Group/Clean50
41. Front commun québécois pour une gestion écologique des déchets
42. Citizens’ Climate Lobby Canada
43. For Our Kids, Burnaby
44. Justice For Migrant Workers
45. Living Oceans Society
46. Tylene Appel and Alan Silverman, Seniors for Climate Action Now!
47. Climate Justice Saskatoon
48. Friends of the Earth Canada
49. Climate Legacy
50. Dr. Trevor Hancock, Emeritus Professor of Public Health and Social Policy, University of Victoria
51. Christopher Campbell-Duruflé, Assistant Professor, Lincoln Alexander School of Law, Toronto Metropolitan University
52. Gareth Gransaull, re•generation
53. Canadian Interfaith Fast For the Climate
54. Slovenian Home Association
55. Decolonial Solidarity
56. Mères au front
57. 350 Canada
58. Calgary Climate Hub
59. The ENRICH Project
60. Above Ground (a project of MakeWay)
61. Prevent Cancer Now
62. Dr. Geoffrey Strong, Retired Atmospheric/Climate Scientist
63. Ecology Action Centre
64. Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project (CAMP)
65. Council of Canadians
66. Grandmothers Act to Save the Planet (GASP)
67. Prevent Cancer Now
68. Mères au front-Outaouais
69. Second Wind Liberation
70. Leadnow
71. Daniel Mockle, Professeur de droit public, Faculté de Science politique et de Droit, UQAM
72. Rebecca MacLeod, Executive Director, New Grocery Movement
73. Alliance 4 Democracy/Sunshine Coast Seniors for Climate Action Now
74. Climate Action for Lifelong Learners (CALL)
75. MiningWatch Canada
76. Canadian Association of Nurses for the Environment
77. Avalon/NL chapter, Council of Canadians
78. Lindsay McLaren, Professor, Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary
79. Camille Fréchette, lawyer
80. Environmental Justice & Sustainability Clinic, Osgoode Hall Law School
81. Fondation Rivières
82. Rébecca Pétrin, Directrice générale, Eau Secours
83. Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ)
84. SeaChoice
85. Teachers for Future Turtle Island
86. Touwendé Roland Ouedraogo, Chargé de cours à l’UQAM et à l’UdeM
87. BCTF Divest Now
88. Inter Pares
89. Stand.earth
90. Shift: Action for Pension Wealth & Planet Health (A project of Makeway)
91. Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability /Réseau canadien sur la reddition de compte des entreprises
92. Vigilance OGM
93. Canadian Health Association for Sustainability and Equity (CHASE)
94. Anne-Josée Laquerre, Directrice générale et co-initiatrice, Québec Net Positif
95. Touch Grass Club
96. Alexandre Lillo, Professeur – Département des sciences juridiques (UQÀM)
97. Elisabeth Patterson, avocate et associée, Dionne Schulze
98. Cédric Gagnon-Ducharme, Avocat
99. Dr. Alexandra Pedersen, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Queen’s University
100. Manitoba Eco-Network Inc.
101. Zero Waste BC
102. Kate Petriw, Communications and Narratives Co-Lead, Wellbeing Economy Alliance (Canada)