The Canada West Foundation is hosting a webinar on June 21, 2024, that will put the federal government’s proposed amendments to its Impact Assessment Act “in the hot seat.”

Canada’s approval processes for major energy and other resource projects have repeatedly come under fire for being overly lengthy, too complex and for putting the brakes on Canadian competitiveness and economic growth. According to the provinces—and the Supreme Court—they were also unconstitutional.

In May, the government released a suite of proposed amendments to the Act to respond to the Supreme Court’s decision. The draft amendments are now making their way through Parliament. But a lot of open questions remain.

How will the changes affect provinces, projects and Indigenous groups? Will the amendments provide the certainty that proponents need to enter the regulatory approval process?  Are they sufficient to transform a sluggish project approval process? Will the provinces be taking the federal government back to court over the Act?

Join the Canada West Foundation and its panel of experts as they probe these critical questions. The panel includes:

• Brad Gilmour, Partner, Regulatory, Indigenous and Environmental at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP and who led Alberta’s challenge of the Act at the Supreme Court.
• Jesse McCormick, Senior VP at the First Nations Major Projects Coalition and who contributed to the establishment of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas and the passage of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.
• Ian Anderson, who was President and CEO of the Trans Mountain Corporation until he retired in May, 2022. And who led the company at the time of its regulatory application for the pipeline expansion through B.C. and Alberta.
• Marci Mehl, Principal at WSP, who has led large and small regulatory and permitting applications to meet federal and provincial requirements, particularly for the mining and nuclear sectors.

The panel will be moderated by Marla Orenstein, Director of Resources, Environment and Economy at the Canada West Foundation, and past President of the International Association for Impact Assessment.

Learn more here.