OTTAWA,
ON, July 5, 2024 /CNW/ - Today, the Honourable
Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and
member of the Ministerial Working Group on Regulatory Efficiency
for Clean Growth Projects, announced a new Cabinet Directive on
Regulatory and Permitting Efficiency for Clean Growth Projects at
the Energy and Mines Ministers' Conference in Calgary, Alberta.
Getting clean growth projects built is how we create and support
good, well-paying jobs, grow our economy and fight climate change.
The government is taking concrete steps to get good projects built
faster and help Canadians take advantage of these
opportunities.
At its core, the Cabinet Directive will ensure clean growth
projects get built faster by providing whole-of-government
direction to federal officials to accelerate decision-making. This
is the first major deliverable from the government's Action Plan,
announced two weeks ago, Building Canada's Clean Future. As
federal departments work together to implement items outlined in
the Action Plan, this Cabinet Directive establishes governance and
accountability structures to improve coordination across federal
entities and provide investors and project proponents with the
certainty they need to build.
The Ministerial Working Group on Regulatory Efficiency for Clean
Growth Projects has been exploring ways to improve federal
assessment and permitting processes for clean growth projects since
2023. The Working Group has heard from internal and external
stakeholders to seek input and recommendations on enhancing system
efficiency and predictability, including industry experts, labour
leaders and Indigenous Peoples. This Cabinet Directive is the
result of that work.
The Cabinet Directive will help get clean growth projects built
faster by removing duplication and red tape, and ensuring
coordinated consultations with Indigenous rights-holders, without
compromising environmental and biodiversity protections. It
outlines four concrete steps to improve efficiency:
- Establishing a Federal Permitting Coordinator on clean growth
projects within the Privy Council Office's Clean Growth Office to
coordinate activities across all federal entities responsible for
reviewing clean growth projects.
- Standing up a new Federal Permitting Dashboard that will
provide a public snapshot of the status of clean growth projects
which require federal assessment and permitting decisions, to
improve predictability and transparency from start to finish.
- Setting assessment and permitting targets of 5 years for
federally designated projects, 2 years or less for non-federally
designated projects, and 3 years for nuclear projects.
- Establishing a Crown Consultation Coordinator to ensure
meaningful Crown consultation with Indigenous Peoples on the
issuance of federal authorizations.
The Government of Canada is
taking action to help Canadian businesses, workers, communities,
and Indigenous Peoples seize the economic opportunities ahead,
fight climate change, and make life more affordable. By making sure
assessment and permitting processes are more efficient and
timelier, we will secure investments, attract and accelerate clean
growth projects, and build the projects that position us for
success now and for generations to come.
Quotes
"The global race is on to build the projects, technologies, and
industries of the future – today. We are securing Canada's place as a leader. This Cabinet
Directive is an important step forward in getting everyone on board
to seize the enormous economic opportunities in front of us.
Regulatory permitting reform is unlocking more projects, faster, on
the path to a strong, sustainable, and prosperous future for all
Canadians."
— The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and
Natural Resources, and member of the Ministerial Working Group on
Regulatory Efficiency for Clean Growth Projects
"We need to build big things in this country. And we can,
because we've got the resources, we've got the people, and we've
got the wherewithal. This is our plan to give industry, investors
and workers the certainty and confidence they need to build."
— The Honourable Seamus O'Regan Jr., Minister of Labour and
Seniors, and Chair of the Ministerial Working Group on Regulatory
Efficiency for Clean Growth Projects
Quick Facts
- Budget 2023 committed to improving the efficiency of assessment
and permitting processes for clean growth projects, with the goal
of heightening investor confidence and advancing the net-zero
economy. As regulatory processes for clean growth projects
implicate many federal government departments, the Ministerial
Working Group on Regulatory Efficiency for Clean Growth Projects
was formed in 2023 to lead this work.
- On June 20, 2024, the Ministerial
Working Group on Regulatory Efficiency released Building
Canada's Clean
Future: A plan to modernize federal assessment and
permitting processes to get clean growth projects built faster.
Measures outlined in the plan will reduce duplication, improve
predictability and transparency, and overall increase the
efficiency of our regulatory system for clean growth projects, to
ensure timely decisions and faster accomplishments – without
cutting corners.
- The action plan and Cabinet Directive are part of new measures
for regulatory efficiency announced in Budget 2024. This includes
an additional $9 million over three
years to the Privy Council Office for the Clean Growth Office to
oversee federal coordination of major clean growth projects,
including implementation of the action plan on regulatory
efficiency for clean growth projects.
Stay Connected
- Cabinet Directive on Regulatory and Permitting Efficiency for
Clean Growth Projects
- Clean Growth — Getting major projects done
- Ministerial Working Group on Regulatory Efficiency for Clean
Growth Projects
- Budget 2024: Fairness for every generation
- 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan: Clean Air, Strong Economy
- Sustainable Jobs Plan
SOURCE Minister of Energy and Natural Resources