Carney exempts new interprovincial pipelines from Impact Assessment Act reviews

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government has eliminated a requirement for new interprovincial pipelines to undergo reviews under the federal Impact Assessment Act, a move welcomed by industry but opposed by First Nations and environmental groups.The new regulations took effect Wednesday and give the Calgary-based Canada Energy Regulator responsibility for assessing interprovincial pipelines and certain other major projects under fixed timelines.“The purpose of the amended regulations is to simplify the project decision process for interprovincial pipelines by assigning the responsibility for assessing these and certain other projects to a single federal regulator,” cabinet wrote in a legal notice.Blacklock's Reporter said interprovincial pipelines, international electricity transmission lines, coal and gas-fired power plants and other designated projects will now be exempt from reviews under the Impact Assessment Act.“Industry stakeholders expressed strong support,” cabinet said in a Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement.Parliament passed Bill C-69, An Act To Enact The Impact Assessment Act, in 2019. The legislation required federal reviews to consider climate risks along with “health, social, gender and economic impacts” of major projects ranging from natural gas plants to airport runways.Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador opposed the legislation. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled portions of the federal assessment regime unconstitutional in 2023.Carney criticized lengthy federal permitting processes during the 2025 election campaign and promised to accelerate approvals for major projects.“I am from Alberta,” Carney said at the time. “I am direct and I do things.”“At the moment when we are thinking about new projects, too often the immediate question is why,” he said. “Instead we need to ask ourselves how. How do we get it done? How can we build things in our country?”“I believe in Canada. I know we can do big things and I know it is time to build.”.Cabinet acknowledged the regulatory changes faced opposition from environmental organizations, First Nations and members of the public.“Members of the public raised concerns about the proposed changes particularly regarding the potential weakening of independent environmental assessments and public interest reviews,” said the Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement.Critics also raised concerns about faster approval timelines and fewer opportunities for public participation.“Concerns were also expressed about compressed timelines and reduced opportunities for public participation as well as the risk projects could be approved without a full understanding of environmental impacts, potentially leading to long term ecological damage and higher remediation costs,” cabinet wrote.Industry representatives also questioned whether the new Canada Energy Regulator timelines could be reconciled with indigenous consultation requirements.The Analysis Statement cited concerns “regarding implementation details, particularly how Canada Energy Regulator-led timelines will align with Indigenous consultation requirements and whether existing processes can realistically meet proposed time frames.”The Assembly of First Nations opposed fixed deadlines for approving major energy projects in an Aug. 11 submission to the Senate national finance committee.“A legislated one-year cap creates de facto pressure to truncate consultations or to shift meaningful engagement to periods where it may lack enforceability,” the Assembly wrote.The organization said Ottawa's push to accelerate infrastructure approvals without what it considers adequate consideration of indigenous consent required stronger safeguards.“Canada’s aggressive legislative agenda premised upon the acceleration of federal infrastructure project review without due regard for free, prior and informed consent demonstrates the need for robust, effective and rights-grounded processes that move from consultation to consent,” it wrote.The Assembly said imposing strict approval deadlines represented “a departure from honourable conduct.”

Carney exempts new interprovincial pipelines from Impact Assessment Act reviews

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