Quote:
Originally Posted by Mayo
Bill C-69, replacing Bill C-38 added significant time and uncertainty to pipeline project approvals.
Example of the additional rigor required is an assessment on the climate impact of the project. At the surface, this sounds great (hence the support it will get from the general public our east).
In reality, it's an extremely subjective assessment that takes time, and being subjective, is open to repeated follow-up requests that also take months at a time. Subjective being, it depends what source the fuel is coming from, and what it's used for. If a natural gas line is being used to offset coal in Asia, it could benefit the environment. But this can't be proven.
Now it get's difficult because you will get right wing sources saying C-69 is the worst, and left wing critics saying it's actually not that bad. It's challenging to work through the details for yourself on these bills, they are a tough read. But to look at the big picture it's hard to believe that if it's all a false narrative, that these private, profit driven companies would just choose not to take advantage highly lucrative growth opportunities in Canada. They choose to get pounded every couple of years with price discount blowout. Instead, most of the investment has fled. That's the big picture reality.
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I think 2 things need to happen:
- Defined timelines with criteria and decisions that are legally binding and enforceable.
If the Environmental Review Board levies a decision, there shouldn't be opportunity for secondary political review and approval. It should just be done. There are at least 3 projects I know about right now where this has occurred.
- There should be pre defined corridors for environmental approvals. One trasnational, one on each coast. These corridors would be preselected to reduce the impact as much as possible, then all review would be precompleted. Port locations selected could even include additional investment measures to reduce impact of potential failure.
Certainty is the number 1 reason we are failing. There's 0 certainty that even if you jump through the numerous hoops, your project and investment will see fruition.