TORONTO/OTTAWA, (Reuters) – Canada will streamline the way it reviews major industrial projects in a bid to speed the development of mines and pipelines, a move opponents said could trigger an environmental disaster.
The right-of-center ruling Conserva-tives, who predict Canada could see C$500 billion ($505 billion) of new investments in energy and mining industries over the next decade, say the current process is far too complicated and lengthy.
“We have to compete with other resource-rich countries for fast-growing markets and scarce capital. And we must do it now,” Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said in a speech yesterday unveiling the new rules.
The federal government will focus only on major reviews, handing over responsibility for some projects to Canada’s 10 provinces, while ensuring each proposed development is assessed only once.
Ottawa will also impose legally binding timetables on reviews, which in the past have taken up to seven years to complete.
Once the new rules are adopted, a review will be limited to a maximum of two years.The Conservatives are particularly keen to speed development of the oil-rich tar sands of northern Alberta, which represent the world’s third largest oil reserves.
“We have immense resources, we are an energy superpower, we’re a mining giant, and this can have an incredibly positive impact on the future prosperity and security of Canadians,” Oliver told reporters after the speech.
Companies which could benefit from the new rules include Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP and Enbridge Inc , which both want to build pipelines from the Alberta oil sands to the Pacific Coast.
“I think this will be an important step forward in modernizing how we regulate in Canada. We’ve got a patchwork quilt of laws now that have come out over many decades,” said Brenda Kenny, President of Canadian Energy Pipeline Association.
ENVIRONMENTALISTS
PROTEST
Environmentalists – who complain about the Conservatives’ tight ties to the energy industry – say trimming the regulatory process could lead to calamity.
“Canadians will get weaker, less-informed decision-making, sloppy environmental protection by resource developers, and an increased likelihood of environmental impacts,” said Simon Dyer of the Pembina Institute think tank.
Oliver dismissed the idea that the environment would suffer, noting that Ottawa planned to impose stiff fines on firms breaking the rules and would boost both pipeline inspections as well as measures designed to improve tanker safety.
