The bill, which also implements new measures to monitor “political activities” of environmental groups who have opposed the pipeline, has sent a chill through the environmentalist charitable sector, with one of the largest environmental charities saying it could comment only on a background basis until elements of the legislation are clarified, The Hill Times has learned.
According to the bill, which is under severe criticism from the opposition parties because of the range of environmental and social issues it lumps in with tax and fiscal measures to be studied by only one House of Commons committee, will open up an “extreme opportunity for political interference” with the National Energy Board (NEB),” says a lawyer and director with West Coast Environmental Law, one of the leading opponents of the Enbridge “Northern Gateway” pipeline.
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May (Saanich-Gulf Islands, B.C.) told The Hill Times she believes the section in Bill C-38, the Budget Implementation Bill, which extends Cabinet control over NEB decision on pipelines to allow Prime Minister Stephen Harper (Calgary Southwest, Alta.) and his Cabinet to overrule NEB rejections of pipeline projects that have been based on environmental reasons, is aimed at investors in China who may be getting cold feet because of widespread opposition in northern British Columbia and the province’s coastline.
The multi-billion-dollar project proposes to establish a massive pipeline from Alberta’s oil sands to B.C.’s coast in order to ship unrefined bitumen via super-sized ocean tankers to China and other Asian countries.
Objections earlier this year from outspoken opponents of the project and local community leaders and environmental and First Nations groups prompted controversial allegations from Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver (Eglinton-Lawrence, Ont.) and Mr. Harper that the project was being threatened by environmental extremists who were funded by foreign interests, primarily in the U.S.
“It’s a virtual certainty the National Energy Board will approve the pipeline [because] that’s been what the National Energy Board traditionally does,” Ms. May said. “The purpose of this is not just to ensure that the project goes ahead, but to ensure that the Chinese backers of the project don’t have any fear of democracy actually working, and that the project might be stopped by an independent regulatory board.”
Ms. May argued the NEB has always had the capacity to overrule findings by any of the review panels it establishes for projects such as the Northern Gateway project, but the bill will assure investors that regardless of what happens, the Harper government will have the power to override any decision.
Mr. Harper and his ministers have consistently lauded the independence and expertise of the NEB while fending off allegations environmental concerns about the Enbridge project will be ignored.
“The chances of the NEB saying no to the pipeline were already quite small, but it might be enough to cause trouble,” Ms May said. “This is a pipeline all about Chinese investment in the oil sands, so putting that in the law struck me as overkill, but perhaps it’s there to reassure china.”
Mr. Oliver said in Question Period Monday that there will be opportunities for public input on envirionmental reviews. "There will be an opportunity for those who have expertise to appear and to be heard at the hearings. Furthermore, those with a direct interest in the pipeline being constructed will have an opportunity to be heard," he said. "There is a scope for these hearings, and those who have something to say about the scope of the hearings will have an opportunity to be heard. This is an overt and transparent policy."
Ms. May spent the weekend poring through the massive budget bill, as did two environmental lawyers who spoke to The Hill Times on Monday.
She said other elements of the bill give the NEB sweeping new powers to suspend environmental concerns in other areas when it reviews pipeline applications.
“The pieces of environmental law that might slow down a pipeline project are all suspended [by the bill] and the National Energy Board becomes a super environment agency to approve pipelines without species at risk, or navigable waters or environmental effects getting in the way,” she said.
Ms. May confirmed to The Hill Times that the legislation, which includes new funding for the Canada Revenue Agency to track the political activities of charitable organizations and trace their funding from abroad, has sent a chill through the eco-activist community. David Suzuki, possibly the best-known Canadian environmentalist, has resigned as chair of his own David Suzuki Foundation to be able to maintain his high-profile advocacy without risking prosecution or reviews under the new law.
Jessica Clogg, executive director and senior legal counsel with West Coast Environmental Law, said her review of the legislation, also over the weekend after Finance Minister Jim Flaherty (Whitby-Oshawa, Ont.) unexpectedly tabled the bill last Thursday morning, confirmed the legislation will give Cabinet sweeping new powers over NEB and other environmental decisions.
“That’s correct, the bottom line is if the [NEB] joint review panel for the Enbridge tankers and pipelines project says no on the basis of scientific review and having heard from experts and the public and interveners, that can be overridden by Cabinet, by the governor in council,” Ms. Clogg said.
“Our perspective really is that by gutting Canada’s longstanding environmental laws, the budget bill is really about giving big oil and gas companies what they have been asking for, fewer environmental safeguards so they can push through megaprojects with little regard for the environmental damage. ... You’re opening up this quite extreme opportunity for political interference with the workings of the national energy board.”
The budget bill’s environmental law revisions take up 154 pages of the legislation. But they will be studied by the Commons Finance Committee, rather than the Environment and Sustainable Development committee.
Environment Minister Peter Kent (Thornhill, ont.), when asked about the absence of environmental expertise on the panel, argued the opposition parties may substitute other MPs for regular members, a possibility as long as the other MPs are designated as associate members of the Finance Committee.
The only aspects of the 154-page environment and pipeline section of the budget bill that could be fairly termed financial in nature are the sections dealing with penalties and fines for contravening the law.
Though it took even the environmental lawyers and Ms. May the weekend to go over the thick legal text, a brief summary at the front of the bill specifically referred to the power Cabinet will gain.
“Division 2 of Part 3 amends the National Energy Board Act to allow the Governor in Council [Cabinet] to make the decision about the issuance of certificates for major pipelines,” the summary says. “It amends the Act to establish time limits for regulatory reviews under the Act and to enhance the powers of the National Energy Board Chairperson and the Minister responsible for the Act to ensure that those reviews are conducted in a timely manner.
Provisions of a section that puts a two-year time limit on major project reviews suggest the NEB panel hearing submissions on the Enbridge pipeline could wrap up its hearings “almost immediately,” Ms. Clogg said.
Carly Wolff, press secretary to Mr. Oliver, wrote in an email to reporters last week that the amendments were not buried as “responsible resource development is a cornerstone” of the budget. “It is routine for such measures to be included in the budget legislation,” she said, noting the government will create a subcommittee to specifically study the “responsible resource development” aspects of the bill.
“Responsible resource development will streamline the review process for major economic projects by providing predictable timelines for project approvals. It will prevent long delays that kill potential jobs and stall economic growth by putting valuable investment at risk,” Ms. Wolff said. “Most importantly, responsible resource development will create good, skilled, well-paying jobs in cities and communities across Canada, while maintaining the highest possible standards for protecting the environment.”
Original Article
Source: hill times
Author: Tim Naumetz
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