In September 2016, an Expert Panel launched a public review of Canada’s environmental assessment processes. The review provided an important opportunity for the Panel to hear from Canadians about the need for a stronger, fairer law governing how Canada makes decisions about things like pipelines, dams, government policies and meeting our commitments to address climate change.
This document, submitted to the Panel by the West Coast Environmental Law Association, outlines the key problems with Canada's current environmental assessment framework, as well as recommendations for reform. The submissions also draw from the outcomes of the Federal Environmental Assessment Reform Summit hosted by West Coast in May 2016, which brought over 30 experts from across Canada together to discuss leading-edge solutions to key issues in federal environmental assessment.