Canada proposes to overhaul its vetting and regulation of energy projects and give new prominence to environmental review.
The Liberal government has proposed legislation that would replace and realign functions of the National Energy Board (NEB) and Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency.
The new Impact Assessment Agency of Canada would “work in partnership with federal regulators to deliver a single, consistent, and predictable assessment process for designated projects and coordinate upfront work and consultations with indigenous peoples,” said Jim Carr, minister of natural resources.
“It will look at how a project could affect not just our environment but also communities and health, the rights of indigenous peoples, jobs, and the economy over the long run.”
The NEB’s replacement, the Canadian Energy Regulator, will “have an expanded mandate to review traditional and renewable sources of energy,” Carr said.
For “major new projects,” he added, the Canadian Energy Regulator “will work with the new Impact Assessment Agency to provide its own recommendations in a single, final report.”
For other projects, the regulator will retain NEB’s existing review responsibility.
