Legal experts alarmed about latest plan to further weaken environmental safeguards
xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) & səl̓ilwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Territories/VANCOUVER
West Coast Environmental Law is sounding the alarm over the federal government’s latest proposal to weaken environmental and regulatory oversight over major projects, after the release of a new discussion paper today.
“These changes amount to a wholesale shredding of Canada’s environmental safety net,” said Anna Johnston, Staff Lawyer. “This isn’t a transformation, it’s an evisceration.”
“Our environmental laws exist for a reason. They’re there to protect communities and the environment from the effects of development projects,” said Johnston. “We know from disasters like the Mount Polley tailings spill in BC and Imperial Oil’s toxic tailings leak in Alberta that weak environmental safeguards can have massive consequences for people and the environment they rely on.”
The discussion paper proposes, among other things:
- Imposing arbitrary, truncated timelines to assess the environmental risks of large, complex projects and issue all necessary approvals and permits;
- Approving pipelines, transmission lines and offshore projects before environmental or safety reviews;
- Exempting pipelines and other major energy projects from impact assessments;
- Enabling “economic zones” that would allow Cabinet to approve projects in them before any environmental reviews, and exempt projects from impact assessments;
- Allowing construction activities to start before impact assessments are finished; and
- Authorizing the Minister of One Canadian Economy and the Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Nature to weaken environmental conditions of projects.
“Canadians want to know that if a major project like a mine or a pipeline is built near them, it won’t pollute their drinking water or put their safety at risk. This overhaul robs people of that security,” Johnston said.
This new plan to deregulate pipelines and other resource projects follows the passage of the controversial Building Canada Act (Bill C-5), which has faced significant public opposition and multiple legal challenges. Unlike the Building Canada Act, the new changes proposed today would apply not just to “projects of national interest” but to a broad range of major projects.
The federal government is now seeking feedback on the discussion paper until June 7, 2026.
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For more information, please contact:
Anna Johnston, Staff Lawyer
604-340-2304, [email protected]