ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½

The Conservative leader made the announcement in Calgary just over a week  before a byelection in a nearby Alberta riding, when he hopes to regain a seat in the House of Commons.

“The prime minister can and must do this, and he can do it by consulting First Nations as required under Section 35 of the Constitution,� Poilievre said, adding that getting shovels into the ground doesn’t happen simply by holding meetings.

But in Canada’s capital on Thursday, that’s exactly what Carney was doing as he held closed-door talks with Métis leaders about his government’s contentious major projects law, known as Bill C-5.

“C-5 has the potential, as I say, to unleash enormous possibilities, to build big things: ports, trade corridors, energy infrastructure to help develop our natural resources, our critical minerals, (to) help develop our people in ways that connect and transform our economy,� Carney said before reporters were asked to leave the room.

“The core of this act is changing how the federal government operates,” the prime minister said. “Core to that concept … is building in true partnership with Indigenous Peoples.â€�

The prime minister held the meeting, his third after previously gatherings with First Nations and Inuit leaders, due to the rushed passage of the law through Parliament in June. The law, which grants Ottawa temporary powers to sidestep existing environmental laws and regulations to fast-track major projects largely in response to Canada’s trade dispute with the United States, sparked fears that the legislation could steamroll over Indigenous and environmental rights.

An all-season pathway into northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire, which is abundant in critical minerals like chromite, cobalt and copper, is speculated to be one of the projects that could be greenlit under the law. It’s also a region that Premier Doug Ford, who passed a similar law, hopes to declare a “special economic zone.�

While the majority of First Nations in the region have long-held concerns about development there, Marten Falls First Nation, which has backed the construction of access roads on its territory, on Thursday filed a statement of claim asking for interim and permanent injunctions preventing Ontario and Ottawa from funding or participating in mining-related activities in the area.

That First Nation also supported Poilievre during the federal election campaign, when the Conservative leader pledged to spend $1 billion over three years to build a road in the region.

Poilievre conceded Thursday that while C-5 was “better than nothing,� it would still do little for Canada’s energy sector.

He tied his list to a new motion the Tories plan to table in the House of Commons this fall, calling on the government to introduce a bill Poilievre dubbed the Canada Sovereignty Act.

“A Conservative government would have acted more quickly to protect the sovereignty of our country under the Liberal government. That sovereignty has been eroded by policies that block our development, tax our people and make us uncompetitive,� Poilievre said.

The proposed act reiterates planks in the Conservatives’ election platform, which promised to repeal a law requiring environmental and other assessments for major projects, as well as repealing the so-called tanker ban, scrapping the industrial price on carbon, shutting down the planned emissions cap for the oil and gas sector, and axing the Liberals’ zero-emission vehicle sales requirement.

The Conservative leader also took aim at Carney’s handling of Canada’s trade spat with the U.S., castigating the prime minister for caving to “concession after concession to President Trump.�

But when asked what he would do to secure a trade deal for Canada and which Canadian tariffs imposed on the U.S. he might remove — something Carney signalled openness to earlier this week — Poilievre only said that Ottawa should narrowly target “things that we don’t need, can make ourselves or can buy elsewhere.�

Back in Ottawa, Carney said Canada will “continue to work with the United States on the many, many mutually beneficial opportunities that we share,� but that the focus of the day’s summit with Métis leaders was on how to “build an economy that moves from reliance to resilience.�

With files from The Canadian Press