A major overhaul of environmental assessment rules for big projects is being touted as both a needed step to improve economic certainty and a threat to environmental standards.
The changes, first signaled in last month's budget and fleshed out Tuesday by the federal government, will include deferring to provincial reviews that meet national standard, a move that provincial Jobs, Tourism and innovation Minister Pat Bell welcomed.
"The 'one review, one process' is something we've been calling for for some time," Bell said, adding that a provincial review will still need to meet requirements under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.
Major projects confined to a single province still needing separate federal and provincial reviews has long been a source of complaint for industry.
"People need to understand we're competing against other countries - Australia, the United States, Qatar, Europe - for these large investments and if we're going to be successful, having a single process for environmental assessment will provide the certainty necessary to attract those investments," Bell said.
Under the package of changes, which remain subject to legislation being passed, reviews would be limited to 12 months for standard assessments, rising to a maximum of two years and the necessity of a review would have to be determined within 45 days.
And the number of regulatory agencies would be reduced to three - the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, the National Energy Board and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission - to conduct reviews, down from 40 government departments that can currently be involved.
The proposed legislation would also hike penalties for noncompliance with an assessment decision to $400,000 from $100,000.
The government is also providing $35 million over two years to beef up marine safety and $13.5 million over two years to strengthen pipeline safety. Measures include requiring west coast tankers to be double-hulled and increasing the number of oil and gas pipeline inspections.
Eric Swanson of the Dogwood Initiative, an environmental advocacy group, gave the initiatives a mixed review and predicted the outcome will be a less healthy environment.
Pluses for Swanson included consolidating the regulatory agencies, hiking penalties and requiring followup programs to verify the predictions of environmental effects.
He also applauded the money for marine and pipeline safety - which appears aimed specifically at the Enbridge and Kinder Morgan pipeline proposals to transport bitumen from Alberta to the B.C. coast for shipment to Asia - but added there is a less expensive way to deal with the issue.
"I can give you safe oil tanker shipping for free by not allowing them," Swanson said. "These projects put existing industries at risk on the coast - fishing and tourism - two sectors that, on balance, generate way more tax revenue and way more jobs than Kinder Morgan and Enbridge combined."
Mining Association of British Columbia president Karina Brino countered that plenty of work is done prior to the start of a review and applications must meet a certain standard before they can go ahead. And once a project passes an environmental review, it remains subject to extensive permitting, Brino also said, to ensure it meets regulatory requirements.
"One thing we need to keep in mind is an environmental review is only the initial stage," she said.
Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen predicted the legislation, if passed, will be struck down by the courts over jurisdictional issues.
"But aside from that, it's just a dereliction of duty," said Cullen, who has been the NDP's environment critic. "People elected folks to go to parliament to do their jobs, not to run away from them."
Cariboo-Prince George MP Dick Harris disputed the environment groups' allegations that the Conservatives don't care about the environment.
"I've got as much concerns about the environment as they do and so does everyone else in our government," he said. "But they seem to think that they have this God-given exclusive which is totally false and I really get upset when I hear this theme coming from them."
Enbridge spokesman Todd Nogier said it's too soon to tell how the new measures to speed up environmental reviews will affect the proposed Northern Gateway oil pipeline.
However, he said the proposals make "great sense" and would boost investor confidence.
"Enbridge supports the very general concept of 'one project, one review' completed in a clearly defined time frame," Nogier said.
Enbridge filed its application for Northern Gateway two years ago as of May.
Hearings began in January and a final decision on the pipeline is not expected until late next year.
- with files from Canadian Press
