Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumHarper, Inc. (aka "Canada") Removing Tar Sands Processing From Environmental Review Process
OTTAWA - Building a diamond mine, expanding an oilsands mine, offshore exploration or an interprovincial bridge could soon require a federal environmental review under proposed additions and subtractions to the Harper government's new environmental rules. But provincially regulated pipelines, facilities used to process the heavy oil from the oilsands, pulp and paper mills as well as chemical explosive plants are among those being deleted from a list of projects requiring federal environmental investigations prior to approval.
The proposed changes would be part of amended regulations for new environmental laws, adopted last July, which have already cancelled about 3,000 investigations, by removing the triggers that required the assessments and replacing them with the list of projects. The proposal said that the government has started 17 assessments of different projects under the new 2012 environmental assessment law, and was not "significantly" expecting further changes to the total number of annual reviews.
Environment Minister Peter Kent has defended the legislation, proposed by the oil and gas industry, explaining that it allows the government to reduce duplication and focus federal resources on the projects that have the greatest environmental risks and impacts. The latest proposed changes, now subject to a 30-day consultation period that began on April 20, would also delete groundwater extraction facilities, provincially regulated electrical transmission lines, a wide range of mining projects, as well as steel mills, metal smelters and pharmaceutical plants.
Isabelle Perrault, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency said "it is generally the view that these types of projects do not have a high potential to cause significant adverse environmental effects in areas of federal jurisdiction."
EDIT
http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Harper+government+drops+heavy+processing+from+environmental+review+list/8309188/story.html
Champion Jack
(5,378 posts)GliderGuider
(21,088 posts)As a Canadian, I apologize to whatever future generations there might be. We're as clueless as the rest of the world, it seems.
PDJane
(10,103 posts)The last election was a scandal, and a majority of Canadians really dislike the man.
riverbendviewgal
(4,251 posts)The last election the PC party engaged in voter fraud with robot calls to approximately 200 polling districts calling non PC voters and telling the poll stations were changed to stations that did not exist. Harper could have stolen the election. He is a mini Bush.