The House of Commons is expediting passage of a bill supporters say will cut out red tape around resource extraction.

Critics argue the new laws will weaken the Yukon’s environmental regime, jeopardize environmental protection and hinder industry through unilateral changes that ostensibly violate the spirit of the Umbrella Final Agreement.

Bill S-6, which proposes to change environmental assessment laws for the territory, passed second reading Wednesday night following a “time allocation” motion.

The parliamentary rule “may be used as a guillotine by the government” to curtail debate in the House, according to the Parliament of Canada website.

The controversial legislation now moves to the standing committee on aboriginal affairs and northern development, which will travel to the territory to hear from interest groups and citizens this spring.

“I am very pleased that the committee will be traveling to Yukon to study Bill S-6,” said Yukon MP Ryan Leef.

“This will ensure Yukoners have the opportunity for input on legislation that is directly related to them.”

Leef has requested that all Yukon First Nations be allowed to speak before the committee, according to the release, regarding the proposed changes to the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Act (YESAA).

That may be difficult if the committee visit lasts one day, as one reputable source said it will. The date will be March 30, according to the source.

The visit will mark the first time a House committee has travelled since the federal NDP opted to oppose committee travel last winter.

The official Opposition’s de facto ban — granted an exception with Bill S-6 — was a response to the government’s Fair Elections Act last spring, which rewrites the rules for voters and candidates as well as parties and electoral authorities.

Larry Bagnell, the Yukon’s Liberal MP candidate and a former MP, said today the bill to amend YESAA will likely be challenged in the courts if it passes, an action Yukon First Nations have threatened.

The YESAA framework came about in 2003 following decades of tri-party consultations — constitutionally protected under the Umbrella Final Agreement — between Yukon First Nations and the territorial and federal governments.

The changes in Bill S-6, however, were tacked on unilaterally by Ottawa, though suggested in part by the Yukon government, after more recent consultations. The changes are staunchly opposed by the Council of Yukon First Nations (CYFN).

“I can’t prejudge the courts, but it seems to me that that does not follow the intent of a constitutionally protected land claim process,” Bagnell told the Star today.

“There’s industry players that are very upset that there’s this hiccup that could place everything on hold while this thing works its way through the courts.

“People also have to remember that the First Nations have a number of mining interests as well, and they don’t want to see things shut down either,” he added.

Bill S-6 proposes four main planks. Two allow imposition of binding policy from a minister in Ottawa, or the delegation of that authority to a territorial cabinet member.

The other two provisions institute end-to-end assessment timelines and pave the way for easier project renewals or expansions, which would no longer trigger fresh assessments.

Trumpeted by some as bureaucratic streamlining and mining company bait, the contentious laws ride roughshod over the autonomy of the Yukon assessment board and threaten the territory’s environmental and political integrity, Yukon First Nations have said.

Ruth Massie, the CYFN grand chief, outlined last December how the new amendments could impact Yukoners.

“Frankly, our concern is that complex projects will be rushed through the approval process without proper assessment if these changes go through,” she said.

“These amendments threaten Yukon’s environment and will create uncertainty and scare off investment and jobs, which will put Yukon’s economy at risk.”

At least two mining companies operating in the Yukon have sent letters to Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt warning that regulatory reforms without meaningful consultation could create tension and uncertainty, the release added.

“We urge the minister and the Harper government to find a solution which honours the spirit and intent of First Nations final agreements,” Eric Fairclough, chief of the Little Salmon-Carmacks First Nation, said at an Ottawa press conference Dec. 3.

Victor Kisoun, currently the NDP’s only candidate for federal nominee in the Yukon, criticized the government’s use of time allocation Wednesday.

He saw the tactic as “a political manoeuvre to prevent debate they deem harmful to them.”

The action reveals that the ruling Conservative Party “see(s) S-6 as being particularly sensitive, in this case to Yukon First Nations,” he said.

Kisoun also rejected the notion that the legislation will streamline the assessment process and improve the territory’s competitiveness in the international mining marketplace.

“In fact, it will create more legal uncertainty for any industry who wishes to operate in this territory.”

He labelled the proposed changes to YESAA “illegal” and called for the government to “allow the bill to die on the order of paper.”

The CYFN did not return a request for comment before press time this afternoon.