The Federal Election and What it Means for Environmental Assessment in Canada

Posted by Stop Ajax Mine on November 12th, 2015 11:31am

There will be a presentation today, November 12th, 2015,  in the Science building Room 203 at 4:00 pm with Kevin Hanna, Director, UBC Centre for Environmental Assessment Research, The University of British Columbia.

Abstract: Over the last 10 years the federal laws and regulations that help protect Canada’s environment have undergone significant change. One of the most substantial shifts was the creation of the 2012 Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.  The objectives of this new act, and the other changes that accompanied it, were to streamline and speed-up the review and approval processes for major projects and eliminate assessment for small undertakings. However, instead of helping industry, some argue that public confidence in regulatory processes and the agencies that administer them was greatly eroded, thus increasing communal conflict and opposition to major projects. The outcome is that it may actually be harder to get approval for many projects. The recent federal election will certainly bring changes to federal environmental assessment; but what will these look like—can they benefit growth and development whilst protecting the environment? This presentation provides a brief history of regulatory changes in federal assessment, a review of the impacts of these shifts, emerging directions in assessment and environmental regulation, and a synopsis of likely changes we will see in federal policy over the next two years.

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