The briefing scenario, prepared for a senior Environment Canada official attending an industry awards gala, suggested that oil and gas companies didn’t want a series of separate legislative changes, but rather an “omnibus” approach.
An official from the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers said it didn’t make specific requests about the legislative process, but confirmed it asked the government to improve the business climate without compromising environmental performance.
“CAPP did not express any opinion on what legislative process the federal government should use to implement the changes,” said association vice president, Janet Annesley, in an emailed statement.
Her comments appeared to contradict the government’s assessment of industry demands regarding environmental laws such as the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and the Species At Risk Act.
“CAPP has raised issues with the ‘one-off’ reviews of specific legislation such as CEAA and SARA and would rather have a more strategic omnibus legislative approach,” said the briefing material, released through access to information legislation.
After Postmedia News sent CAPP the document, Annesley said in a separate email that her association had continuously asked for a “holistic review of regulatory legislation.
“This is an internal government briefing document and we cannot speak to the government’s specific choice of words,” she said.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government put hundreds of pages of changes to environmental protection laws in its budget implementation legislation in 2012, weakening rules that protect water and species at risk, introducing new tools to authorize water pollution, as well as restricting public participation in environmental hearings and eliminating thousands of reviews to examine and mitigate environmental impacts of industrial projects.
Previously-released documents have confirmed that government officials wanted to tell oil, gas and pipeline companies that their industries would be “top-of-mind” in the changes to the laws, recognizing that the legislation was “very controversial” and asking industry, before tabling the plan in Parliament, to help to promote it to the public. Other internal records revealed that government bureaucrats recommended telling First Nations representatives before the budget that any news they were hearing about the changes was “speculative.”
In the past week, the National Energy Board has used one of the provisions from the legislation to require Canadians to fill in a 10-page form, along with a resume of their credentials, in order to participate in public hearings on an Enbridge pipeline reversal project.
The changes have also prompted a national protest movement using the “Idle No More” slogan to defend the rights of Aboriginal Canadians.
Environment Minister Peter Kent has said Canadians will eventually see evidence that the changes are improving environmental protection.
“Human nature does not easily accommodate any change or the prospect of change,” Kent told Postmedia News. “When change does happen, there are often very legitimate concerns that develop until in the fullness of time, the changes that are made fulfill the commitment and the promise of those who made the changes.”
Opposition parties and environmental groups said the omnibus approach prevented an adequate debate and review of the changes in Parliament.
“Omnibus bills are tools to avoid public debate. I can understand why Big Oil wanted to hide their proposals to gut Canada’s environmental laws from public scrutiny, but the government never should have taken that advice,” said Keith Stewart, a climate and energy campaigner for Greenpeace Canada. “A year later, we find out that the oil industry not only got to dictate changes to Canada’s environmental laws, but also the secretive way in which those changes were enacted.”
The briefing material was prepared for Environment Canada’s associate deputy minister, Andrea Lyon, who was attending reception and awards dinner hosted by CAPP on March 21, 2012.
The document also said that some prominent Alberta politicians were scheduled to attend the gala, including Premier Alison Redford and Conservative MP Michelle Rempel, the parliamentary secretary to Kent.
Greenpeace Canada has also noted that many of the changes adopted were specifically proposed by the industry lobby.
“Stephen Harper denounced galas put on by the arts community, but sends his MPs to galas where the oil industry gives itself awards while lobbying politicians for weaker environmental regulations,” Stewart added, referring to previous comments made by Harper suggesting that artists attend posh events and want government subsidies.
Original Article
Source: canada.com
Author: Mike De Souza
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