The federal government says it received more than 21,000 emails on proposed changes to how major projects are reviewed and will spend the coming weeks combing over those submissions.
A window for public feedback on the proposed changes closed Wednesday. The government said it will publish a report summarizing the submissions by the end of the summer.
A spokesperson for the Privy Council Office — which oversees the major projects office — said that while officials are still compiling the feedback, as of July 17 the government had received 187 written submissions from stakeholders. They included Indigenous and environmental groups, think tanks, academics, provinces, territories and municipalities.
“The Government of Canada also attended 24 meetings with Indigenous groups (including three virtual engagement sessions) and 27 stakeholder meetings,” said spokesperson Pierre Cuguen.
Ottawa released two discussion papers in May which proposed, among other things, approving major projects before they’re reviewed. It also proposed exempting certain projects from laws designed to protect species at risk.
The government also proposed taking the responsibility for reviewing pipelines, transmission lines and offshore renewable energy projects away from the Impact Assessment Agency and handing it to the Canada Energy Regulator.
The federal government has said it has been told by industry that the level of expertise on energy projects that lived at the Canada Energy Regulator couldn’t be found at the Impact Assessment Agency.
The government also has proposed creating “economic zones” for transportation corridors, telecommunications networks, and energy production and transmission. Those zones would allow the federal cabinet to decide which activities would be allowed in them, and give ministers the power to pre-approve projects.
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In May, Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak told The Canadian Press the proposed changes “demonstrate a pattern of exclusion.” She also criticized the short timeline for submitting feedback.
Ottawa initially set a deadline of June 7 for feedback but extended it to July 22 following heavy criticism, primarily from environmental and Indigenous groups. They also pushed the timeline to table legislation to the fall sitting.
“Look, there are enormous issues at play here,” Transport Minister and government House Leader Steven MacKinnon told The Canadian Press when the government extended the consultation period. “We want to make sure we get the full range of views.”
The feedback the government received included a submission from the Green Party, which sought more clarity on how cabinet would be held accountable if species at risk are threatened by Ottawa’s decisions. It also raised concerns about the proposed economic zones.
“As proposed, these zones of environmental lawlessness could be decreed by federal fiat virtually anywhere in Canada given the breadth and variety of areas to be covered by the discussion paper,” the Green Party wrote in its submission.
“While the discussion papers and frequent press releases attempt to create the impression that this government respects Indigenous rights, the government’s actions suggest this is not the case. The discussion papers’ specific proposals appear to have been developed in a settler culture bubble.”
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Green Party Leader Elizabeth May wrote to MacKinnon and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc back in May requesting briefings for MPs to allow them to better understand the proposals.
Speaking to The Canadian Press on Friday, May said MPs never got a briefing — even though Ottawa pushed the deadline for feedback — and she never received a reply to her letter.
Other stakeholders who weighed in on the proposed changes included the Ottawa-based think-tank Public Policy Forum, which had recommended many of the changes contained in the federal government’s discussion papers.
In its submission, Public Policy Forum said Ottawa could go even further with the proposed changes but mainly urged the government to introduce legislation in the House of Commons before Ottawa hosts its Canada Investment Summit in mid-September.
The summit is bringing together some of the world’s wealthiest investors to convince them to invest in Canada. But after extending the timeline for feedback, the earliest the government will now be able to table any legislation to implement its proposed changes would be just six days after the summit wraps up.
“It is imperative that the government demonstrates tangible progress on implementation,” Public Policy Forum wrote in its submission.
“Investors will be looking for concrete signals that reforms are real, underway, and durable enough to underpin long-term investment decisions.”
Public Policy Forum also recommended that Ottawa add an “investment lens” to legislative mandates for regulators.
“Regulators are currently mandated to prevent or mitigate environmental and societal harms, but they bear little responsibility for how regulatory decisions influence investment outcomes,” Public Policy Forum wrote.
“Adding an investment lens to legislative mandates would ensure regulators consider both risk management and the broader economic value of proposed projects, including growth, competitiveness, and economic security, while creating greater accountability for whether regulatory processes support or discourage investment in Canada.”
Native groups should have no more impact than any other group. How about interviewing the German-Canadian group, or the Cattlemen’s association, or the WMCA?
Environmental groups as the negative, should carry the same weight as the oil producing and natural gas electrical producing groups as the positive.
According to the Treaties, Natives do not have rights to the land, and actually are prevented from trying to influence development. – we are all settlers here, so that comment is totally wrong and biased.
I challenge Global to do an article about the actual treaties, and what the treaty rights are, and how much is being given, over and above what is required under treaty.
This is just another govt. boondogle. Get out of the way of progress or we will see more industry moving south. Let people build as they have for many years without govt. interference as to winners and losers. We have always had the necessary people to make sure the permits and paperwork matched the projects this is just another arm of govt. intrusion that adds to the cost of any project.
More excuses to dent prosperity to Canadq
Mr.Leblanc should resign soon . If he wants to leave politics with any integrity
The look on Mr . LeBlanc’s face says it all .
Stop lying to the people of Canada
I thought the election pitch was we in an existential emergency with Trump and we needed to built out faster then ever scene in Canada. Did that mean at a glacial pace. I guess the so called “emergency “ isn’t as Carney led us to believe. More flip flops and inaction by Carney
Right? They have an entire government most people might feel employs too many people in the wrong areas. They do indeed meet or consult with Premiers and have multiple times already.
He created an office devoted to finding and approving projects, when any fool-ass citizen can think of endless worthy investment opportunities without blinking.
What do these highly paid people do? I feel like one hire was approaching half a million salary, but, I guess consulting the public for ideas for projects they could approve quickly was not in the job description.
Someone beong paid too much by government already, sneared while retorting:
“What, you want ME to do THIS?”
And so it goes. No alarms and no surprises. Silence.
Imagine, for a moment, you were hired to work on projects as a project manager and after 16 months of employment, before working on a single project, you told your employer that you needed more time to consult with stakeholders.
If they were you, your co-worker, reporting manager, director, senior officer, what might you think?
A little too much lenience with imposter syndrome? Maybe you, or they are not quite up to the job?
Campaigns are your period of consultation. When Parliament breaks is your time for consultation.
When Parliament sits you should know what you are doing and there should be no need for further consultation.
I get the political optics of appearing to listen to the people you represent, but this government seems incapable of actually making a decision.
Everything is deferred over an alleged need for consultation, study, maybe outside consultancy because our government is not yet large enough and our politicians prefer evading the the scrutiny of government.
Carney and his swallowers,what a joke
For this government to seriously consider abandoning their responsibilities on behalf of the corporate elite WILL BE THEIR END!!!
What a two faced liar he is even WORSE THAN TRUDEAU…
CARNEY IS A TRAITOR
NO CONFIDENCE
INDIGENOUS?? WHY?? They wanted their own nation & self governance none of which this taxpayer and funder of Indigenous has seen as being fruitful to Cananada or Canadians but certainly of benefit to them seeing as they don’t pay taxes or contribute. For those taxpayers who have worked & paid taxes into their senior years, there seems to be no consultation with or cobsideration for them. Why is there so much coddling of and catering to the Indigenous so much when they don’t contribute the same if at all. What has our country become other than a land of inequality for and poor recognition of Canadians’ who built this country and continue to do so. Mr. Carney, Sir and Ms Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak?? How many projects have been stopped by the Indigenous?? We have a problem which causes resentment and more bitter division!!!
While reading the article it seems to me that environmental focus groups, indigenous group leaders and the Green Party are doing there best to protect our beautiful country and the plant and I am grateful. The other part of me says that the Major Projects initiative is important to our sovereignty. If every group, politician and environmental person came to the table with compromise, it would be more valuable to ending this trade war by working toward an Independent Canada. We are in a trade war. This war threatens our sovereignty in ways that perhaps these environmentalist are not taking seriously. Once the American/Canada trade war is done, we can concentrate on with a more focused and detailed approach to the environment issues. For nor let us compromise on some so that we can become the best and independent countries in the world.
@Pat and that will be coming to you very soon if things in Carney’s Canada don’t change soon.
Well that’s one sure way to build in delays to projects and then blame it on Canadians who participated in the email reviews. Pretty sneaky and underhanded scheming by Carney.
Leblanc is the epitome of the incompetence and corruption in Ottawa.
12 major pipelines being built in the USA. Five in Germany, all privately funded and will be completed in the next 2 years.
Canada? No company is willing to invest in Canada. So government MAY build one pipeline after years of consultations, meetings, reports, studies and reviews.
Canada is a messed up country.
@Pat. Like what? Please enlighten us.
Dominic Leblanc should fall on his sword and resign He has nothing of value to show for as a Liberal Minister in over a decade
that equals one in 2050 Canadians? Special interest group advocates much?? hardly a public issue when less one person in over two thousand sent something as orchestrated as emails.
I will defend the Carney Liberals until I’m homeless lose my job and join the 2 million people in line for the food bank.
Most if not all Liberal policies are spectacular failures, just like the “EV” battery manufacturing fantasy that has basically collapsed in Canada.
The comments on this opinion page are as unrealistic as those on a previous article.
I’m glad some of our commentators aren’t running Canada
As usual, carney is all talk and no action. The housing crisis is now worse than it was under Trudeau, which is unbelievable to think.
the never ending FNs complaining, nothing has been approved, the big 0
Not one project “directed” to the MPO has been “approved “ let alone started. Carneys approach is a total joke.
A great way to delay taking any action on anything for 12-18 months minimum. Carney and this Liberal government are proving themselves to be incapable of making decisions unless it’s giving money away to other countries or traveling around the world in so called trade talks that never happens.
Really? I didn’t even know about this ‘window’? Let me guess, those submissions are all from the east and from the rich advocates. 21,000 folks in the east speak for the millions across the land. Uh-huh. Liberal ‘democracy’ in action.
Sounds like an excuse to extend his do-nothing strategy.