Changes include exemptions to the Species at Risk Act, Impact Assessment Act
VANCOUVER | UNCEDED xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (MUSQUEAM), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (SQUAMISH) AND səlilwətaɬ (TSLEIL-WAUTUTH) TERRITORIES — The federal government today announced plans to “simplify and accelerate” Canada’s regulatory process, implicating environmental protections.
The proposals would exempt an unspecified suite of “major projects” from various federal environmental review requirements, including assessments under the Impact Assessment Act and the jeopardy test under the Species at Risk Act. Currently, the jeopardy test requires proponents seeking permits to operate in the habitat of at-risk species to undergo assessments to determine whether their activities would jeopardize survival or recovery. The Impact Assessment Act requires assessment of the cumulative social and ecological impacts of proposed major projects.
The government is also proposing new legislation to create “Federal Economic Zones” within which project reviews would not be required. The federal government provides no clear, transparent or evidence-based criteria for identifying these economic zones, nor does it provide any mechanisms for ensuring environmental safeguards within them.
In response to proposed exemptions to the Species at Risk Act, Rachel Plotkin, boreal project manager, David Suzuki Foundation, said:
“Policies and laws intended to safeguard the environment have been continually dismantled during Prime Minister Mark Carney’s tenure, undermining the government’s commitment to protect and restore nature. The legislative and regulatory changes announced today follow that trend. Weakening protections for at-risk species during a biodiversity crisis is not in the national interest. Wildlife populations have plunged by two-thirds globally since 1970, and more species are designated for protection under Canada’s Species at Risk Act each year in Canada than removed. We are not opposed to streamlining processes. But improving regulatory expediency shouldn’t come at the cost of healthy ecosystems.”
In response to removing review requirements for pipelines and energy infrastructure, Thomas Green, senior manager, climate solutions, David Suzuki Foundation, said:
“This government is proposing to weaken or eliminate safeguards that are key to protecting health and the natural ecosystems that people in Canada cherish. It’s pursuing an agenda crafted by oil and gas interests to gut our laws and run roughshod over community and local interests, even if much of the profits will flow to shareholders outside of Canada while taxpayers will be left to clean up environmental damages.”
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For more information or interviews, please contact:
Brandon Wei, bwei@davidsuzuki.org, 604-732-4228 x333