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'One project, one review' not for the North Budget plan to streamline review process for major economic projects in the south; changes do not apply to boards North of 60 Thandiwe Vela Northern News Services Published Saturday, May 5, 2012
Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver recently outlined the so-called 'one project, one review' Responsible Resource Development plan with Bill C-38 -- which has yet to be passed -- but for the most part, the plan does not address the North, and does not apply to Northern boards. "The Responsible Resource Development plan announcement referred mainly to South of 60," Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada spokesperson Geneviève Guibert stated in an e-mail to News/North. Tom Hoefer, executive director of the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines, called the Responsible Resource Development initiative a "powerful Federal endorsement of the importance of resource development in Canada," and also observed that it has no specific reference to the North. The formal plan for regulatory change in the North is the Action Plan to Improve Northern Regulatory Regimes (the Action Plan), now being dubbed Responsible Resource Development – North, which is continuing to be advanced by Aboriginal Affairs, since the plan was announced in 2010 in response to the McCrank Report--a review of the North's regulatory systems authored by Neil McCrank, commissioned by Aboriginal Affairs. Hoefer said he believes the Action Plan for the North may even have been somewhat of a model for the Responsible Resource Development plan. Key elements in the Action Plan for the North are legislative changes to reduce overlap and duplication; to enhance environmental stewardship; and a strong voice for aboriginal peoples. The federal Responsible Resource Development plan has similar key themes regarding regulatory, environmental and aboriginal peoples, including aims to make the review process for major projects more predictable and timely; reduce duplication in the review process; strengthen environmental protection; and enhance consultations with aboriginal peoples. The plan for Responsible Resource Development imposes strict timelines for review panels, National Energy Board hearings, and environmental assessments, and proposes sweeping changes to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. "They are making big changes," said Travis Schindel, acting head of communications for the Mackenzie Valley Review Board, in response to the Responsible Resource Development plan. "There will be big changes in the southern provinces for sure with respect to this type of resource development." Changes to resource development acts in the North that may be implemented with the Action Plan, including proposed amendments to the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act in the NWT to consolidate the territory's land and water boards into just one, and amendments to the Nunavut Planning and Project Assessment Act, are still being discussed. "Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act amendments may be forthcoming in the future," Schindel said. "That will affect us, whatever those changes are, I'm not sure. It's still very much in the works." As the Action Plan continues to be discussed, economic projects must navigate "a complex maze of regulatory requirements and processes," according to the chamber of mines, which hopes for legislation in the North that will establish clear timelines, reduce duplication and regulatory burdens, like that outlined in Economic Action Plan 2012, in the near term.
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