Major provincial projects could soon face a single environmental review instead of separate provincial and federal assessments after Quebec and Ottawa announced a draft agreement Monday aimed at streamlining the approval process.<\/p>\n
If adopted after a 21-day consultation with public and Indigenous groups, the agreement would introduce a \u201cone project, one review\u201d approach, allowing one environmental assessment and one government decision for projects that are currently reviewed under both Quebec\u2019s Environment Quality Act and the federal Impact Assessment Act.<\/p>\n
The draft agreement was announced in Montreal by Quebec Environment Minister Pascale D\u00e9ry and federal Minister of Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement Jo\u00ebl Lightbound, who said it is designed to make the regulatory process more efficient rather than weaken environmental oversight.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s less paperwork, not less rigour,\u201d Lightbound said. \u201cIt\u2019s fewer delays, not less protection.\u201d<\/p>\n
D\u00e9ry said between five and 10 projects in Quebec each year currently require both federal and provincial environmental assessments. She did not identify which projects would be affected first under the proposed agreement.<\/p>\n
But environmental group \u00c9quiterre questioned whether the changes are needed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would like to have a demonstration from our government officials that (duplicate environmental assessments) was really a problem,\u201d said Charles-\u00c9douard T\u00eatu, a climate and energy policy analyst with \u00c9quiterre, in an interview with The Gazette. \u201cAt the moment, we do not think that it was an issue.\u201d<\/p>\n
T\u00eatu said \u00c9quiterre has not taken a position on the proposed agreement because governments have released few details about how the process would work in practice or which projects would ultimately be covered. Based on Monday\u2019s announcement, however, he said the proposal appeared to be \u201cmore administrative than substantive.\u201d<\/p>\n
D\u00e9ry said Quebec\u2019s environmental assessment regime, which has been in place for more than 50 years, already meets high standards and that eliminating duplicate reviews would help accelerate major projects while reducing uncertainty for investors.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe draft agreement is a major step forward for Quebec,\u201d D\u00e9ry said.<\/p>\n
The agreement builds on Prime Minister Mark Carney\u2019s commitment last November to pursue \u201cone project, one review\u201d agreements with provinces<\/a>. Speaking in Montreal at the time, Carney said projects should not face duplicate environmental reviews where provincial processes provide equivalent oversight.<\/p>\n Quebec would become the eighth province to enter into this type of co-operation agreement with the federal government, following similar agreements with British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.<\/p>\n The draft agreement is open for public comment until Aug. 10 through the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada\u2019s online Let\u2019s Talk Impact Assessment consultation portal<\/a>. The federal government said funding will be available to support Indigenous groups participating in the consultation before a final agreement is reached.<\/p>\n