During a recent panel discussion in Toronto titled, “What needs to change to get major projects and key infrastructure built in Ontario?”, panellists emphasized that regulators must change their mindset and stakeholders must strengthen partnerships with Indigenous communities to ensure successful investment in Canada.
“The focus for regulators should not be whether or not we should do a project, but how we should proceed,” said pannellist Laurie Swami, President and CEO of the Nuclear Waste Management Organization. “Regulators have tried to be as risk averse as possible by involving everyone in approvals, making the process slow every step of the way. Is this really the best way to help the country implement projects?
“We need to learn to do things differently, with a greater focus on outcomes,” said pannellist Stephen Crozier, Vice President, Sustainability, Wyloo. “It’s not only getting something built, but getting it built the right way for all Canadians, and to the highest standards. This can be done, but only if we start thinking differently.”
Ontario’s Bill 5 includes revisions to the Mining Act designed to shorten the approvals process to two years, but pannellist Serge Imbrogno, former Deputy Minister at the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks and Ministry of Energy, cautions there are other time factors to consider. “Even with the legislation having been pushed through, the regulations will take some time,” he said. “And no time has been built in for consultation.”
“We need to return to expert tribunals the full jurisdiction to review projects,” said Brad Gilmour, partner, and Co-Chair, Environmental Disputes, Investigations and Enforcement Group. “We have expert panels that regulate the entire lifecycle of activities — whether it’s a pipeline, electrical transmission project, a mine or a nuclear facility. These activities are being regulated from application to construction, operation, decommissioning and abandonment on a daily basis. Expert tribunals are the ones who understand how a project works and what its effects are. They are the ones who should be making the decisions.”
Indigenous partnerships
In terms of building Indigenous partnerships, the speakers see the government as having an important role to play here. “Indigenous engagement is essential to moving any project forward,” said Laurie Swami. “Government has an accountability to ensure that these relationships are established early on in a region, and not just on a project-to-project basis.
“The Crown must own this in a respectful way, whether it be through modern treaties or through a much broader and carefully planned way of talking to Indigenous communities to understand what their needs are so we can do this in the right way for their communities. This is critical.”
“The future of projects of national interest will work to the extent that Indigenous communities are brought in as partners,” Stephen Crozier added.
