Facing a potential tariff threat that could cause economic damage akin to a war, and facing a world where authoritarian states like Russia and China are rapidly building up their military strength, Canada must take immediate action to get pipelines built and expand our military now.
The problem with putting off national priorities is that at some point you are faced with a crisis that presents you with nothing but bad options.
Had Canada listened to those who advocated for the construction of pipelines across our nation to get our oil and gas to markets in Asia and Europe, we wouldn’t find ourselves so woefully dependent upon the United States.
Had Canada done what any serious country should do and built up its military years ago, when it was clear Russia and China were becoming an increasing threat, we would have been able to protect our territory and contribute more meaningfully to helping our NATO partners.
But we didn’t.
We didn’t get enough pipelines built, and we didn’t build up our military.
And so, we find ourselves in a desperate scramble to do what we should have done years ago.
As a result, decisive action is necessary.
Canada simply cannot afford to wait to escape from our reliance on the U.S., nor can we wait to rebuild our military.
We are facing an economic threat nearly on par with a war. Our economy could be devastated due to the factually incorrect trade views of an incoming U.S. President who seems hell-bent on using American power against America’s allies while appeasing America’s enemies (at this very moment Trump is musing about trying to save CCP-controlled TikTok).
This is an emergency, and it requires emergency action.
Understandable wariness
Of course, many Canadians will be understandably wary of hearing about the use of emergency government powers, given that many feel those powers were abused by the Trudeau Government during the pandemic.
Those concerns are understandable.
However, emergency legislation still has its place (it arguably should have been used to confront the horrendous anti-Semitic protests that have spread throughout Canada), and it would be wise to utilize it right now.
Furthermore, getting national pipelines built and rebuilding our military are legitimate areas of federal responsibility and won’t result in freezing the bank accounts of protestors.
With this in mind, here are the two big moves the government should make – with the approval of Parliament:
First, invoke the Emergencies Act to declare an Economic Emergency and declare the construction of new pipelines to the West Coast and East Coast as Works of National Importance.
Second, invoke the Defence Production Act to give the Defence Minister the ability to directly purchase military equipment and bypass the broken procurement process. Immediately begin purchasing new fighter jets, give Canadian firms contracts to produce 155mm artillery rounds to build up our stockpile, sign contracts for tanks, self-propelled artillery, and air defence units, and direct money to Canadian small arms manufacturers (like Black Creek Labs for example), and start building up a domestic military drone manufacturing industry.
Let’s look at both ideas in more detail:
Emergencies Act
The Emergencies Act gives the government the ability to declare a Public Welfare Emergency and Economic Emergency. An attack on our economy by a seemingly hostile U.S. President certainly qualifies as both.
Our standard of living could take a massive hit if tariffs go ahead, and Canada will need to take rapid action to escape our reliance on the U.S. as much as possible, while also working to convince our American friends that tariffs hurt consumers in both nations, with the hope that cooler heads will soon prevail.
Even if the tariffs don’t happen or are short-lived (and we shouldn’t bet on the best-case scenario), we have been given a tough lesson in how overly dependent we are on the U.S., and on how that makes us vulnerable. Escaping that vulnerability can only happen if we rapidly build pipelines to get our oil and gas to ports in the West and East, so we can more easily sell to Asia and Europe.
The government should invoke the Emergencies Act, declare a Public Welfare Emergency and Economic Emergency, and declare that new construction of pipelines is “for the general advantage of Canada.”
This will make it possible to bypass lengthy environmental assessments and give the federal government jurisdiction over the pipelines. Parliament could also supplement this by passing legislation to exempt the new pipeline construction from the Impact Assessment Act.
Parliament could also designate the pipelines as Critical Transportation Corridors, enabling more rapid funding and construction.
Additionally, emergency legislation would make it possible for the government to disburse funds for compensation, benefit-sharing agreements, jobs training, and infrastructure investment in Indigenous communities to build support for the rapid construction.
There is also an important national unity angle here. Many Albertans are understandably upset that the federal government has not built enough pipelines and has thus left Alberta – and all of Canada – economically vulnerable. Rapid action to build pipelines and compensation for Alberta oil businesses that take an economic hit if Canada imposes tariffs on Canadian energy going to the U.S. could mitigate national tensions while ensuring that we leave all retaliatory options on the table against the U.S.
Defence Production Act
Given the challenges Canada is facing, here are the most relevant parts of the Defence Production Act:
Powers and Duties of the Minister
Powers relating to all departments
10 (1) Subject to this Act, the Minister may exercise the powers conferred by this Act on the Minister in relation to defence supplies or defence projects required for the purposes of any department in, or portion of, the federal public administration.
Powers relating to National Defence
(2) The Minister shall have exclusive authority to buy or otherwise acquire defence supplies and construct defence projects required by the Department of National Defence, except
(a) defence projects to be constructed by persons in the employ of Her Majesty; and
(b) such defence supplies or defence projects as the Minister of National Defence or any other Minister designated by the Governor in Council may procure or construct at the request of the Minister.
Powers conferred by other Acts
(3) The Minister may exercise powers and carry out duties and functions conferred or imposed on the Minister by or pursuant to any other Act.
Acts on behalf of associated government11 The Minister, if authorized by the Governor in Council to do so, may do or undertake, on behalf of an associated government, any act or thing that the Minister is authorized to do or undertake by this Act on behalf of Her Majesty.
Organization of Industry for DefenceDuties of Minister
12 The Minister shall examine into, organize, mobilize and conserve the resources of Canada contributory to, and the sources of supply of, defence supplies and the agencies and facilities available for the supply thereof and for the construction of defence projects and shall explore, estimate and provide for the fulfilment of the needs, present and prospective, of the Government and the community with respect thereto and generally shall take steps to mobilize, conserve and coordinate all economic and industrial facilities in respect of defence supplies and defence projects and the supply or construction thereof.
While this has a significant concentration of power in the hands of the minister, parliamentary committees can ensure adequate oversight. The fact is that because we wasted so much time building up the military, we must bypass the normal process to catch up. We need to spend tens of billions of dollars ASAP, and we need to give the Minister the authority to skip the procurement process.
The Defence Production Act makes that possible.
Again, none of this is ideal.
I don’t like the idea of using emergency legislation. I recognize and share the concerns many will have about doing so, given how little credibility the federal government has right now. I don’t like the idea of running massive deficits to rebuild our military.
But the alternative is worse.
It’s not fair that Canada is facing a potentially hostile U.S. President, and it’s not fair that Russia and China both seem determined to wreck the rules-based international order through military means. But fairness has nothing to do with it. This is simply the reality we face, and that reality – combined with years of naivety and ‘planning for the best’ thinking from the Canadian Government – has put us in a terrible situation.
It won’t be easy.
It won’t be uncontroversial.
But it’s necessary.
This country needs new pipelines, and we need a military buildup. The Emergencies Act and Defence Production Act can help us make it happen.
Spencer Fernando