Montréal, December 10, 2025 – The Centre québécois du droit de l’environnement (CQDE) is expressing serious concerns about Bill 5, An Act to accelerate the granting of the authorizations required to carry out priority national-scale projects, tabled yesterday by the Gouvernement du Québec. This bill grants the government extremely and unduly broad powers to authorize megaprojects and to exempt them from dozens of essential laws.
Special treatment for megaprojects
The CQDE points out that the criteria for designating projects that will be eligible for preferential treatment are vague, subjective, and insufficiently defined, which opens the door to arbitrary decisions. This law would allow the government to select, on a case-by-case basis and without any real prior consultation, high-impact projects that could be imposed on local populations. The government is rolling out the red carpet for high-impact projects, even though there is no guarantee that they will actually contribute to the transition.
“In the context of an unprecedented accumulation of policies that undermine our democracy and the rule of law in Québec and the rest of Canada, hearing the government tell us to ‘trust’ it is not reassuring, quite the contrary. I prefer to trust well-written laws with clear guidelines.” – Geneviève Paul, Executive Director of the CQDE.
Dozens of laws that can be circumvented
The bill sets a dangerous precedent by allowing entire sections of Québec’s legislative framework to be circumvented. While a handful of laws remain protected, most could be set aside depending on the needs of the project. For example, a project could be exempted from rules aimed at protecting the environment, agricultural land, forests, cultural heritage, or private property.
“It’s no longer projects that must comply with the law, but the law that adjusts to projects. With this bill, the government is saying loud and clear to Quebecers that, for some, laws are optional.” – Geneviève Paul.
The CQDE is also concerned that preparatory work could take place even before projects have been approved. This approach risks causing even more irreversible damage, particularly in already fragile environments.
Hands tied for municipalities and local populations
In terms of public participation, the bill maintains the requirement to go through the BAPE for certain projects, but drastically reduces its scope. Consultations would be limited to public hearings only, and the BAPE would lose the ability to question the very relevance of a project or recommend its rejection.
Municipalities, for their part, find themselves with their hands tied. If a project does not comply with their regulations, they would have no choice but to amend them without public consultation or bow to the will of the government. Residents would also lose essential spaces where they can make their voices heard. If several municipalities in a region strongly oppose a mining project or a pipeline, their concerns could simply be ignored.
“With this bill, the government is telling municipalities that their regulations and the opinions of their residents are nothing more than obstacles that can be trampled on when they get in the way.” – Geneviève Paul.
