Liberals table bill to speed up major project approvals, avert labour disruptions

By Nick Murray Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government tabled a sweeping bill Monday meant to fast-track approvals for major projects, cut their review times and create zones of “national interest” to pre-approve certain types of projects. Bill C-39, the Building Canada Strong Act, is also proposing major changes to collective bargaining, including the use of more federal mediation to get deals done and repair relationships between unions and businesses. “This legislation will give our country the tools we need to build more, better and more efficiently. We know the challenge before us. We cannot control decisions made by other countries, but we can control how we are prepared here at home. To do that, we need the right infrastructure,” Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon told a news conference. Senior government officials