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Federal commitment to streamline the environmental review process gets mixed reviews
Federal commitments to streamline environmental reviews of major resource projects sit well with the mining industry, but not so well with environmentalists, scientists and many other notable Canadians.
Miners have been a leading voice in calling on the Harper Conservatives to amend the review process to remove what they believe are needless delays in getting projects vetted by federal regulators.
They want duplication of paperwork eliminated, and they want Ottawa to commit its bureaucracy to fixed time limits for reviewing projects and rendering a verdict.
That could mean faster turnaround times on projects that typically take a decade to develop from early drilling investigations to operating mines.
When Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver announced in mid-April what the Tories are calling the Responsible Resource Development initiative, representatives of mineral explorers and mine operators applauded.
The world relies on mining to supply everything from gravel for roads, sidewalks and building foundations to coal for steelmaking, copper for electronic devices, gold for jewelry.
In Canada, mining accounts for 10 per cent of the economy and 40 per cent of exports – and British Columbia is a major player in that enterprise.
But the Tories’ approach — inspired in large part by similar initiatives in British Columbia since the B.C. Liberal Party took power in 2001 — has alarmed many.
Notably, two former federal fisheries ministers from British Columbia, Progressive Conservatives Tom Siddon and John Fraser, described the Tories’ plan to water down habitat protection legislation as either inexcusable or foolish.
B.C. Environment Minister Terry Lake, meanwhile, applauded the changes and said the province will look at legislative changes to match those emerging from Ottawa.
Gwen Barlee, policy director of the Wilderness Committee, noted the province has been more aggressive about supporting resource projects than have the feds.
B.C. approved Taseko Mining’s Prosperity copper-gold mine near Williams Lake before its rejection in 2010 by regulators in Ottawa. (The project has been revised and is now undergoing a second federal review.)
“Gradually over the years we have incorporated environmental laws and standards to make sure we can deal with acid rock drainage, or prevent it from happening in the first place, so that we aren’t having groundwater contamination, or damage to fish streams,” Barlee said.
“Around the world, other jurisdictions are improving environmental laws. In Canada, we are rolling back environmental laws by 10, 20, 30 years. It makes me shake my head.
For the rest of this article, please go to the Vancouver Sun website: http://www.vancouversun.com/opinion/project+review+controversy/6600589/story.html