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Some senators have said they are open to amending the bill, which industry groups argue is lacking in detail and therefore leaves the project review process open to interpretation. Last August, Ottawa purchased the Trans Mountain pipeline for $4.5 billion as a way to ensure construction of the project, which had languished in part because of Canada’s complicated regulatory review process.

Harder tabled a motion Wednesday which would have imposed a tight deadline of May 30 for the Senate to pass Bill C-69, a full month before the upper house’s final scheduled sitting day before summer break, June 28. It also proposed a June 6 deadline for the oil tanker moratorium bill and a May 30 deadline for Bill C-68, the counterpart to Bill C-69 that focuses on ocean protections.

I believe that if we continue to work as hard as we're working, we're likely to achieve that timeline

Conservative senators delayed a vote on the motion Wednesday, then in private meetings Thursday pushed for an agreement to remove some of the deadlines.

Still, the agreement maintains a firm timeline on when various committees need to report back to the Senate, imposing short timeframes in which senators can propose amendments.

The energy committee studying Bill C-69 will need to report back to the Senate by May 9, just weeks after senators complete their cross-Canada tour, according to the updated schedule seen by the Post. Senators on the transport committee, who are studying Bill C-48, will need to report back by May 16.

The tighter deadlines come as the end of the spring session nears, a fall election looms and a swath of legislation is lagging in the Senate. Thirteen bills are currently under review int he upper house, as well as roughly 10 more bills yet to be passed to the Senate from the House of Commons.