Big changes are in store for how the federal government assesses the environmental impacts of industrial projects, but environmentalists say the plans for a regulatory overhaul of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act detailed in the budget will hurt industry by undermining social licence and further sullying the country’s environmental track record abroad.
“The budget was a sad day for Canada in terms of the environment and the health and safety of Canadians,” Liberal environment critic Kirsty Duncan (Etobicoke North, Ont.) told The Hill Times last week. Ms. Duncan said that she was all for an efficient regulatory regime, but took a swipe at the government for using the struggling the economy as “an opportunity to gut environmental legislation.”
Ms. Duncan, who was part of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change when it was awarded a Nobel Prize in 2007 and taught at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management before entering Parliament in 2008, accused the government of ignoring the private sector’s willingness to transition to a green economy. Instead, she said, the government is attempting to fast-track development at the expense of the environment.
“What’s good for the environment can be good for the economy, and business gets this,” said Ms. Duncan. “If you reduce waste it pays off. Business understands this and Canadian communities understand this. They’re taking action and our government is lagging.”
