The Pembina Institute is grateful for the opportunity to provide comments on the Report from the Expert Panel on the Review of Environmental Assessment Processes. We commend the Government of Canada for initiating a review of this important component of Canada’s environmental law and planning regime, and for providing an opportunity for public comment on the Expert Panel’s report.
To ensure optimal outcomes, it is crucial that the Government of Canada consider the recommended changes to each of the four regimes under review. In this letter, we present our review of the EA Panel report, which we have conducted with a view to how the recommendations therein support the recommendations that we have provided on National Energy Board Modernization. We look forward to reviewing and commenting the NEB Panel’s report and recommendations when they become available.
We write to you today to outline our support for the EA Panel report, and further to underscore that its proposed reform package, if implemented, would significantly advance the government’s other environmental law reform objectives — particularly as it relates to the NEB.
The vision outlined in the EA Panel report is commendable and demonstrates that the EA Panel heard the views and concerns of Canadians. But further, its recommended reforms are also workable and present a clear path forward for the Government of Canada.
