The bill is organized into three parts. Part 1 addresses project assessment. It amends the Impact Assessment Act to make the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission the responsible authority for certain designated projects that include activities regulated under the Nuclear Safety and Control Act. It coordinates impact assessments, certain federal authorizations and consultations with Indigenous groups. For projects for which the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada is the responsible authority, it sets, among other things, a 365-day period for the proponent to provide required studies or information and a 300-day period for the Agency to submit its final report, subject to the extension and suspension mechanisms provided. An impact assessment is mandatory for projects for which the Commission is the responsible authority.

Part 1 also amends the Building Canada Act, the Canadian Energy Regulator Act, the Canadian Navigable Waters Act, the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, the Species at Risk Act and the Fisheries Act. The amendments address projects in regions of national interest; pipelines, designated power lines and offshore renewable energy projects; authorizations relating to works; environmental protection compliance orders; the feasibility of certain terms and conditions; habitat credits; and fees credited to the Environmental Damages Fund. Consequential amendments are made to the Federal Courts Act and the Northern Pipeline Act.

Part 2 amends the Department of Transport Act, the Canada Transportation Act, the Canada Marine Act, the Marine Liability Act, the Coasting Trade Act, the International Bridges and Tunnels Act and the Access to Information Act. It provides, among other things, for a transportation project office, trade corridors, the National Trade Corridors Council, an expanded security-clearance regime and a four-year interswitching zone in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta in which interswitching is subject to the rate determined by the Canadian Transportation Agency. It repeals the Shipping Conferences Exemption Act, 1987 and enacts the Enabling Digital Trade Act, which recognizes specified electronic trade documents and permits the electronic provision of import and export information.

Part 3 amends the Canada Labour Code to establish new rules concerning collective bargaining, contractor replacement, first collective agreements and special mediation. It also creates mechanisms for recovering unpaid amounts and an exception to paid medical leave where a collective agreement provides rights and benefits at least as favourable. Finally, it amends the Wage Earner Protection Program Act, including provisions concerning the former employer and determinations of eligibility for benefits.