A one year limit, a new consultation hub for Indigenous groups, and pipelines no longer under the authority of the Impact Assessment Agency – these are some of the main changes the Carney government is proposing to speed up major projects. 

Ottawa released proposed changes in a discussion paper on Friday, and intends to consult with the wider public in weeks ahead before introducing legislation. 

ECONOMIC INSIGHTS: Regulatory reform

As iPolitics reported Thursday, the government is moving to enable concurrent permitting, meaning the assessment process and the permitting process would happen at the same time. 

The Impact Assessment Agency would be asked to complete its review and decision-making process within a year, with that target being enshrined in the law.

Already, the federal government was leading consultations with Indigenous groups on how they would be affected by the two-year timeline set out in the Building Canada Act. 

It’s not clear what would happen if a consultation process took more than a year to carry out. 

“While deadlines will not change Canada’s duty to consult Indigenous communities or fulfill obligations under modern treaties, we are creating a process that will lead to earlier and more coordinated consultation,” reads the discussion paper. 

The second proposal involves the creation of a Crown consultation hub within the Impact Assessment Agency to help facilitate the duty to consult and accommodate. 

Only projects that fall within federal jurisdiction could make use of the new Crown consultation hub. 

The government is also proposing to remove pipelines from the authority of the Impact Assessment Agency, and have the Canada Energy Regulator (CER) handle all reviews for pipelines, transmission lines, and offshore renewable energy projects. 

“The Governor in Council would make the decision about whether the project is in the public interest for pipelines with lengthy routes,” reads the document. 

“To reduce risks and costs for investors, this decision would be made at the beginning of the decision process, before the CER completes its review of conditions and routing details.” 

Finally, borrowing from Ontario’s playbook, Ottawa is pitching legislation to create economic zones. 

This would cover areas like transportation corridors, telecommunications networks, energy production and transmission, and industrial regions.

This means that the Governor in Council would have the authority to “pre-approve” certain developments within the zones. 

There are also several changes that will have implications for species at risk. 

The government is proposing to make it easier for proponents to obtain permits for “offsetting,” the process of replacing an environment disturbed by development. 

It is also proposing to exempt specific projects from the application of the jeopardy test for species at risk, “bt only if it’s in the public interest” and “if the proponent has made all reasonable efforts.” 

Government officials were unable to tell iPolitics what the public engagement period will look like in the coming weeks. Specifically, it is not clear if in-person sessions will be held.

More to come…