In a recent open letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney, Nature Canada has provided their recommendations on the Liberal Party’s campaign commitments on impact assessments of major projects and how to ensure an ‘One Project, One Review’ approach is consistent with Canada’s nature and climate commitments.
Nature Canada provided three key recommendations on impact assessment for the federal government. First, that any ‘One Project, One Review’ initiative can be achieved through regulatory and policy changes and through agreements with provincial and Indigenous governments, rather than revisiting the Impact Assessment Act. Second, that the proposed Major Federal Project Office be housed at the Privy Council Office to ensure project assessments are timely, consistent with nature and climate commitments and that they respect Indigenous people’s rights and sovereignty. Finally, Nature Canada recommends that the Impact Assessment Agency continue to work to ensure decisions on proposed projects protect areas under federal authority and meet Canada’s international commitments.
In addition to these three key recommendations, Nature Canada emphasized the importance of impact assessment for the ‘Look before you leap’ principle. The letter also addresses several of the misconceptions around impact assessment, including that red tape is a primary reason projects are delayed and that provincial assessments are sufficient for major projects.
You can read the open letter here.