The federal government has initiated modifications to exempt several energy projects from certain aspects of the environmental assessment process. This move entails excluding projects like pipelines, transmission lines that traverse international or provincial borders, and offshore renewable energy projects from undergoing an environmental review by the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC). Instead, these projects will now be exclusively evaluated by the Canada Energy Regulator (CER).
According to the new regulations published in the Canada Gazette, certain oilsands extraction projects and fossil fuel-fired power generating projects will no longer fall under the purview of the IAAC review. The government emphasized that the CER possesses the necessary expertise to conduct impact assessments, scrutinizing various environmental factors such as air quality, water resources, soil conditions, climate change implications, wildlife impact, species at risk, and Canada’s environmental responsibilities.
The regulatory changes indicate that projects in Quebec, which previously necessitated both federal and provincial environmental assessments, will now only require provincial approval, marking a significant development for the mining sector. The government clarified that despite these alterations, the projects and facilities will still be subject to stringent provincial and federal assessment processes to ensure environmental compliance.
Heather Exner-Pirot, the director of energy, natural resources, and environment at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, expressed positivity towards the changes, highlighting that the projects affected will not be exempt from environmental assessment but rather avoid duplication of assessments already conducted by provincial governments or the Canadian Energy Regulator.
The adjustments follow Prime Minister Mark Carney’s commitment to streamline regulatory approvals for major projects, a promise made during the previous election. The passage of Bill C-5, with support from the Conservatives, post the 2025 election enables the government to expedite major projects deemed in the national interest. However, these modifications will impact reviews for other major projects not falling under that designation. The proposal for these changes was initially introduced in May and further consultations on the reforms were concluded in July.
The report summarizing the consultations coincided with the announcement of the regulatory changes. Julia Levin from the Environmental Defence advocacy group criticized the decision, labeling it as a detrimental blow to Canada’s environmental safeguards and climate progress, accusing Prime Minister Carney of undermining these critical aspects.
