Seven federal departments are considering legislative and regulatory amendments to fast-track major infrastructure, energy and resource projects, according to documents reviewed by IJF.

Advocacy groups warn the effort could sideline Indigenous rights, along with health and environmental protections.

Three departments — Crown–Indigenous Relations, Natural Resources Canada and Environment Canada — stated in federal reports they are considering legislative amendments tied to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s new Major Projects Office (MPO), created in August to deliver approvals in two years instead of five. Four others reported they are examining regulatory changes, which officials can make without a parliamentary vote.

The reports were filed in response to a July directive from Carney’s government to cut red tape across departments. Carney has pitched the MPO as a tool to revive an economy slowed by U.S. tariffs and to deliver results “at a speed not seen in generations.”