Ottawa tightens rules for approval of major projects

Photo Boris Proulx
The federal minister of the Environment and climate Change, Catherine McKenna, has announced new rules for the environmental assessment of major projects, Thursday in Ottawa.

Boris Proulx

Thursday, February 8, 2018 12:07

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Thursday, February 8, 2018 12:07

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OTTAWA | All new pipelines, farms or oil and mining projects will now have to take into account the fish health and aboriginal traditions, among the new criteria announced on Thursday by the federal government.

The minister of the Environment and climate Change, Catherine McKenna, announced a series of new rules that will be required to submit companies wishing to launch new major projects, such as those of exploitation of natural resources.

The local impacts of projects will be studied in accordance with scientific knowledge and “aboriginal traditional knowledge”. New protections will exist to protect the water, the marine life and the waterways. The minister will, however, retain the right to give the green light, or not, to work the most difficult.

Ottawa indicates that the companies will find their account since the time of assessment of the environmental impacts will be reduced to a maximum of 300 days, or 600 days for the more important projects, such as pipelines. The process promises to be “clarified” and more “transparent”.

At the same time, the government changes the name of the national energy Board for the Governance of canadian energy. At the same time, a new organization, named ” the canadian Agency for assessment of impacts “, will be responsible for the review of all major projects.

These new measures are included in a bill that must be approved by the parliament. They do not apply to projects currently underway, such as the controversial pipeline Kinder Morgan in British Columbia.