Bill C-15 Part 5 Section 10
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5 Bill C-15 Part 5 Section 10 Division Summaries with Vote Questions below.
- Division 40: Building Canada
- Division 41: Cdn Energy Regulator
- Division 42: Cdn Enviro Protection
- Division 43: Competition Act
- Division 44: Ntl School Food Program
- Division 45: Stablecoin
Estimated Read Time: 12 minutes
DIVISION 40 — Building Canada Act Building Canada Act (2025, c. 2, s. 4) — s. 592
What the Bill Says
The public registry reporting requirement under the Building Canada Act is amended to cover the extent to which a project is expected to meet the outcomes set out in paragraphs 5(6)(a) to (e).
Plain Language Summary
A technical cross-reference correction in the Building Canada Act — passed earlier this year. It aligns the public registry reporting requirement with the full set of five project outcomes defined elsewhere in the same Act.
A Closer Look
The Building Canada Act is months old. Zero projects listed in its Schedule. Grand speeches about Canadian sovereignty and fast-tracking infrastructure.
Then a quiet Amendment slips into a 45-division Budget Bill — no named project, no standalone debate. The Amendment ensures that the Public Registry reports on all five project outcomes, including clean growth and Canada's climate objectives.
The Amendment appears to address a drafting omission, not change which projects qualify or which outcomes Cabinet may consider.
The accountability issue is how a Law passed in only 20 days omitted one of its own five outcomes from the public registry requirement and required amendment less than five months later.
DIVISION 41 Canadian Energy Regulator Act Canadian Energy Regulator Act (2019, c. 28, s. 10) — ss. 593–594
What the Bill Says
Division 41 creates a distinct licensing regime for liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, separate from pipeline natural gas exports.
LNG export licenses (s. 593): Maximum validity of 50 years — the longest export license term in the Act. Start date fixed in the license itself.
Natural gas export licenses (s. 594): Maximum validity remains 40 years — now explicitly carved out to exclude LNG, which gets its own longer term.
Definitions of liquefied natural gas (natural gas in liquid state) and natural gas (at least 85% methane, gaseous at standard conditions) are added to the Act.
Plain Language Summary
LNG export projects — terminals, tanker contracts, long-term supply agreements — require decades-long investment horizons to be commercially viable. Division 41 gives LNG exporters a 50-year license window, 10 years longer than pipeline gas, to support the capital certainty needed to build and finance LNG infrastructure. This directly supports Canada's LNG export ambitions, particularly to Asian markets.
DIVISION 42 Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (1999, c. 33) — ss. 595–596
What the Bill Says
Two targeted amendments remove the five-year limit on administrative and equivalency agreements and allow either party to terminate them with at least three months notice:
Agreement duration and termination (ss. 595, 596): Federal-Provincial administrative agreements and equivalency agreements under CEPA are no longer limited to five years. They can continue until either party terminates the agreement by giving the other at least three months notice.
Equivalency standard (s. 596): Provincial provisions qualify for equivalency if they are equivalent in effect to Federal CEPA regulations — clarifying that the test is outcomes-based, not identical-text-based.
Plain Language Summary
Clean and technical. Division 42 tidies up two types of Federal-Provincial environmental agreements under CEPA — standardizing the termination notice period at three months for both and clarifying that Provinces don't need to copy Federal regulations word-for-word to qualify for equivalency, just match them in effect. Housekeeping with a small but meaningful policy clarification on equivalency.
Division 42 also removes the five-year limit on Federal-Provincial administrative and equivalency agreements under CEPA. These agreements can now continue until either party ends them with at least three months notice, removing the former requirement to renew them every five years.
⚠️ Under CEPA, the Federal Government retains the authority to set environmental standards and can reclaim enforcement from a Province on three months notice — Provinces are not regaining jurisdiction, they are borrowing enforcement while the Federal standard remains in place.
DIVISION 43 Competition Act Competition Act (R.S., c. C-34) — ss. 597–598
What the Bill Says
Division 43 makes two targeted amendments to the greenwashing provisions of the Competition Act.
Substantiation standard (s. 597): The existing prohibition on unsubstantiated environmental claims is amended to clarify that representations about the environmental or climate benefits of a business or business activity must be based on adequate and proper substantiation — and the burden of proof lies on the person making the claim. The former requirement to use an internationally recognized methodology is removed.
Private access carve-out (ss. 597–598): The greenwashing provision explicitly does not apply to private party applications — meaning only the Commissioner of Competition, not private litigants, can bring greenwashing cases under this provision. Private applications remain available under the product-specific environmental claims provision and the general deceptive marketing provision.
The Tribunal is prohibited from granting leave to private applicants seeking to pursue greenwashing claims.
Plain Language Summary
Division 43 narrows the business-level greenwashing rules in two ways: environmental or climate claims about a business or business activity must still be adequately and properly substantiated, with the burden of proof on the company making the claim, but an internationally recognized methodology is no longer required. Private applicants cannot bring cases under that specific provision, leaving its enforcement to the Competition Bureau. Other private applications remain available for product-specific environmental claims and deceptive marketing.
DIVISION 44 National School Food Program Act ss. 599 (enacting the National School Food Program Act)
Education is assigned exclusively to Provinces under section 93 of the Constitution Act, 1867. The Federal Government has no direct constitutional authority over school programs.
Division 44 does not deliver food or run programs directly — it offers funding through agreements with Provinces, Territories and Indigenous governing bodies.
Provinces are not required to participate.
Federal funding conditions, including the six guiding principles and Official Languages Act obligations, apply only to Provinces and Territories that enter into agreements.
What the Bill Says
Division 44 enacts an entirely new standalone Act — the National School Food Program Act — establishing the legal foundation for Canada's National School Food Program.
Purpose (s. 4): Sets out the Government's long-term vision, commitment to maintaining long-term funding and guiding principles for ongoing investments.
Declaration (s. 5): Declares that all children and youth in Canada should have access to nutritious food at school in an inclusive, non-stigmatizing setting. Six guiding principles: accessibility, health promotion, inclusivity, flexibility, sustainability and accountability. First Nations, Inuit and Métis children are best served by culturally appropriate programs designed and delivered by their own communities.
Funding (ss. 6–7): Federal investments must be guided by the declared principles. Funding must flow through agreements with Provinces, Territories or Indigenous governing bodies — no direct Federal delivery. Official Languages Act commitments apply to Provincial/Territorial agreements.
Reporting (s. 8): The Minister must table an Annual Report in Parliament covering Federal investments made and progress on program principles — within 15 sitting days of completion.
Ministerial designation (s. 3): Government designates the responsible Minister by Order.
Plain Language Summary
Division 44 gives Canada's School Food Program a statutory home for the first time — moving it from a Budget commitment to an Act of Parliament with declared principles, a funding commitment and mandatory annual reporting to Parliament.
The Federal Government does not deliver food directly — all funding flows through agreements with Provinces, Territories and Indigenous governing bodies. Indigenous communities are explicitly recognized as best positioned to design and deliver their own programs.
The Minister responsible for the program is designated by Cabinet Order — Parliament has no role in confirming or approving that appointment.
The funding commitment is declared but not quantified in the Act itself — amounts remain subject to annual appropriations and negotiated agreements.
DIVISION 45 Stablecoin Act ss. 600–606 (enacting the Stablecoin Act and consequential amendments) this Act is not yet in force.
The Bank of Canada holds exclusive access to the financial, governance and technology details of every registered stablecoin issuer — including monthly statements, reserve compliance certifications and incident reports.
Protected supervisory information is exempt from Access to Information requests. The public registry, published issuer policies and public enforcement disclosures provide some information, but competitors, investors and the public do not have access to the full supervisory record held by the Bank.
The Minister of Finance may additionally share issuer information with national security agencies and may classify the existence of those Orders as confidential.
What the Bill Says
Division 45 enacts an entirely new standalone Act — the Stablecoin Act — creating Canada's first comprehensive Federal regulatory framework for stablecoins.
What is regulated: Any digital asset designed to maintain a stable value relative to one fiat currency, with interprovincial or international reach. Closed-loop stablecoins and Federally regulated financial institutions are excluded by default.
Central banks are fully exempt.
Registry of issuers (ss. 15–29): No one may issue a stablecoin in Canada without being listed on a public Bank of Canada registry. Applications require detailed disclosure of ownership, technology, governance, risk management, legal opinions and accountant certifications. The Bank of Canada supervises; the Minister of Finance holds national security veto power over any application — with authority to extend review periods, demand additional information and direct refusal.
Issuer prohibitions (ss. 30–34): Issuers cannot pay interest or yield on stablecoins, cannot represent stablecoins as legal tender, deposits or government-insured instruments and cannot make false or misleading public statements.
Reserve requirements (ss. 37–39): Issuers must maintain a reserve of assets equal to or greater than the par value of all outstanding stablecoins — held exclusively in the reference currency or high-quality liquid assets, placed with qualified custodians, segregated from all other assets and protected from creditor claims.
Mandatory policies (ss. 40–44): Issuers must establish, implement and publish governance, risk management, data security and recovery and resolution policies — all subject to Bank of Canada review.
Reporting (ss. 46–51): Monthly financial statements to the Bank of Canada; regular certified accountant and independent legal opinions on reserve compliance; immediate incident notification; notice of any significant change.
Bank of Canada enforcement (ss. 59–66): The Bank may request information, impose conditions, require undertakings, enter compliance agreements, issue directions and recommend ministerial prohibition orders.
Minister of Finance powers (ss. 67–76): The Minister may designate security agencies to receive issuer information, impose national security conditions and undertakings, issue temporary and permanent Orders restricting or prohibiting stablecoin issuance and classify information as confidential — including the existence of Orders themselves.
Administrative monetary penalties (ss. 79–92): A full violations and penalties regime with notices of violation, representations, Federal Court appeals, debt recovery and public disclosure of violations.
Consequential amendments (ss. 601–606): The Stablecoin Act is added to the Access to Information Act Schedule II (protecting supervisory information from ATI requests); FINTRAC gains authority to share intelligence with the Bank of Canada for stablecoin supervision; the Retail Payment Activities Act is amended to bring private key custody and tokenized payment instruments within the definition of payment functions.
Plain Language Summary
Canada is building a regulatory fence around stablecoins before they get big enough to matter to the financial system.
To issue a stablecoin in Canada, you need Bank of Canada approval, a fully backed reserve held by a qualified custodian and segregated from everything else, four published policies, monthly financial reporting, independent legal and accounting sign-offs — and you cannot pay interest, call it a deposit or claim Government backing.
The Minister of Finance holds a National Security override at every stage: application, ongoing operations and shutdown. Orders can be kept secret. CSIS, the RCMP and CSE are explicitly named as Government authorities that can receive issuer information.
This is not a light-touch framework. It is a full prudential regime modeled on how banks are regulated — applied to crypto.