Laying down the law

Mark Carney is laying down the law when it comes to boosting construction in Canada.

The Liberals have tabled a sweeping bill that would fast-track approvals, cut review times, and create special zones that would pre-approve major projects.

And most controversially, the bill would also alter labor laws, much to the dismay of unions.

There is a lot going on here, so we're going to break down the three most important things that we think builders should know.

So first, say goodbye to the years and years of a project being in the friend zone.

The central reform of the legislation is the establishment of a binding 12-month limit for federal reviews and final decisions on major infrastructure projects.

And these decisions would move through a single coordinated process rather than fragmented across a bunch of different government organizations.

And number two, the act would also enable the creation of special zones.

So this could be transportation corridors, this could be energy corridors, also just special areas of industrial activity.

So essentially what that means, for example, is you could have an area that's approved for mining projects, and these mining projects, if they meet certain conditions, would be automatically pre-approved to just sail through the process.

So number three, major changes to labor.

So the bill includes a provision that would allow government officials to intervene and end a work stoppage if that's deemed to be within the national interest.

Of course, this has drawn a lot of heat from labor groups and unions who say this infringes on a worker's right to go on strike.

This, of course, all comes on the heels of Canada's first ever investment summit where dozens and dozens of projects were pitched to a global crowd.

Ottawa is hoping to attract an investment of about a trillion dollars across all these projects and try and change the perception that Canada is a difficult place to do business and where things just don't get done.