Committee Briefs & Remarks
Remarks: Senate Committee on Bill C-69
CME appeared before the Senate Standing Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources February 21, 2019 to provide input it study of Bill C-69, Impact Assessment Act and Canadian Energy Regulator Act / Various Other Acts.
CME highlighted that the bill, as written, could be a direct threat to future resource development and the well-being of manufacturers’ essential suppliers and customers. It could would make it difficult to proceed with nationally significant natural resource development projects.
CME recommended that Bill C-69 be amended in 8 ways:
- The Act should include national, regional and community economic interests.
- Life cycle regulators, which have a stellar record and experience, should continue to be included in the project approval process.
- In order to have a clear debate, the proposed project list under review should be made public.
- Introducing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) into Bill C-69 would introduce unnecessary uncertainty.
- The Impact Assessment Agency should be established as an independent body with an independently appointed Board of Directors, rather than an arm of Environment and Climate Change Canada to avoid politicization of decisions.
- Replacing the NEB with a new process would led to court challenges – setting Canada back years.
- The Act should set reasonable timeframes during which challenges can be made.
- The mandatory requirement for review of offshore oil and gas activities is an unnecessary over reach that could make new offshore exploration economically nonviable.