Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Honourable senators, the fact that the government engaged not only with provinces and stakeholders but also that the bill was the subject of vigorous debate here does not mean everyone has to agree at the end of the day. Clearly they don’t. The government remains convinced that the bill was carefully crafted to affect areas of federal jurisdiction and is confident that its use will be upheld on appeal.

Senator Gold: In the development of Bill C-69, the Government of Canada took into account the interests of all stakeholders and of Canada in ensuring that there is a proper, efficient and effective process for overseeing the environmental impact of major projects.

The government believed and believes it was acting within its constitutional jurisdiction, a shared jurisdiction between the federal Parliament and the provincial legislatures, and remains of that view.