Senator Cardozo: Welcome again, minister, to our chamber. My questions are regarding clauses 21, 22 and 23, which some have referred to as the Henry VIII clauses, which would allow the government to exempt your plans and activities from a series of acts.

I wonder if you could explain the reason for that and a couple of other specifics. Are the exemptions limited to the acts in Schedule 2? As I understand it, there is no time limit on that, so governments could ignore these acts for decades to come. Am I right or wrong?

Ms. Freeland: I will not repeat the colourful but the — I think — not entirely fair term that you used. This is about ensuring that we can get big projects built. It is about recognizing that, today, the legislative frameworks that we have are not adequate at this moment in Canada. They have also become covered in barnacles, just as internal trade has been.

I hope you will agree with me and with the Prime Minister — I think you probably will — that this is a moment of real national crisis, and we need to respond to that crisis with some extraordinary measures by saying that we will get major projects built now, and we will give ourselves the tools to do it.

I want to be clear, though, that this legislation is about enabling that. I truly believe there is no one in this chamber and no one in Canada who would disagree with the assertion that we need to build more big things in Canada faster. I think we all agree on that.

Also, I think we all agree that we need to do it safely, and we need to do it in a way that respects the rights of Indigenous people in Canada, in a way that respects the environment and in a way where provinces, territories and the federal government are collaborating. This process is designed to do exactly that. There will be great transparency and a lot of public debate around each project that goes through this process.

Senator Cardozo: What would be an example of an occasion where you might want to exempt the government from an act?

Ms. Freeland: One of the things I learned during the first North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, negotiations was that it is a hostage to fortune to go into hypotheticals. What I will say is that this is about setting a framework, and there will be great transparency and great national debate around each project that goes through this process.

Senator Cardozo: Does that cover housing?

Ms. Freeland: As I’ve said, the bill outlines the criteria very clearly. It is not about naming specific projects. Some projects have been discussed as possibilities, but each project will have to go through this process.