Government to table bill Monday aimed at speeding up major project approvals

By Nick Murray Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government will table a bill today to fast-track the approvals for major projects. The Building Canada Strong Act is expected to remove the responsibility for reviewing many big projects, such as pipelines and power transmission lines, from the hands of the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada. A discussion paper earlier this year also said Ottawa was aiming to create so-called “economic zones” to give ministers the power to pre-approve certain projects. The government originally intended to introduce the bill in the spring but pumped the brakes after pushback from environmental and Indigenous groups. It underwent extensive consultation through the summer, with Ottawa receiving more than 21,000 emails on it. Earlier this month, the government said it abandoned plans to exempt certain projects from…

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