The organization called out ‘Henry the VIII’ powers in part 5, division 5 of Bill C-15
Ecojustice has penned an open letter urging parliament to reject changes to the Red Tape Reduction Act, particularly part 5, division 5 of Bill C-15.
This part of the bill authorized federal ministers to exempt individuals, companies, and governments – including federal departments – from being subject to any federal law or regulation. Ecojustice said ministers could unilaterally amend an Act of Parliament and noted that only the Criminal Code was unaffected by these powers; the application of labour standards, health and safety regulations, legislation upholding Indigenous rights and sovereignty, environmental protection laws, and security and privacy legislation could be affected.
Ecojustice said the “Henry the VIII” powers laid out in Bill C-15 were “an affront to the separation of powers.”
“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’,” Ecojustice wrote in the letter. “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.”
Ecojustice added that with the passing of the bill, “vague and overbroad notions” like competitiveness and economic growth, which could be interpreted however a minister intends, could become legitimate reasons for exempting individuals or organizations from any Act of Parliament.
“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,” Ecojustice said. “They will set Canada on the wrong path toward a weaker Parliamentary democracy, with potentially catastrophic implications.”
Ecojustice urged parliament to eliminate part 5, division 5 of Bill C-15 in a call that was supported by signatories like the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights, Canadian Labour Congress, University of Ottawa, Human Rights Watch, Democracy Watch, and Université du Québec à Montréal. Individuals who backed the letter included Human Rights Research and Education Centre director Penelope Simons, University of Ottawa associate law professor Angela Cameron, Lincoln Alexander School of Law assistant professor Christopher Campbell-Duruflé, and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation chief Allan Adam.
