Canada is finally talking about building again. On May 8, the federal government released a package of discussion papers that would cut major project reviews to one year, run impact assessments and permits in parallel rather than back-to-back, replace a tangle of departmental sign-offs with a single federal decision, and use regional assessments to pre-clear the corridors and zones where Canada wants to build.
It's the right idea. ICBA's 4,500 construction and resource company members have been making this case to Ottawa for years – because a country that takes five years to decide on a mine, terminal, or pipeline isn't being cautious. It's in decline. Australia approves comparable LNG projects in 18 months.
Today, ICBA President Chris Gardner wrote to Ministers Dominic LeBlanc and Steven MacKinnon to register our support – and to flag one serious concern: the UNDRIP overlay needs to come out before this goes to legislation.