CP NewsAlert: Feds drop plans to skirt species at risk act for major projects

OTTAWA - The federal government is abandoning plans to exempt certain projects from laws designed to protect species at risk after an overwhelmingly negative response to the proposal during a summer of consultations. However environmental groups say Ottawa can still bypass the Species At Risk Act through other means. The government is planning to introduce legislation in the fall to speed up approvals for major projects, a key promise from Prime Minister Mark Carney.

The government released two discussion papers in May which also proposed, among other things, to give cabinet ministers what it calls “limited” power to exempt projects from what’s known as the “jeopardy test” for species at risk. “But only if it’s in the public interest and if the proponent has made all reasonable efforts to avoid or reduce impacts on at-risk species,” the discussion paper read. A senior government source, speaking on background, confirmed a report by The Toronto Star that the government is no longer planning to move ahead with that part of the discussion paper.

The source said the move comes after feedback on the issue. In a report published Wednesday summarizing the more than 26,000 submissions Ottawa received during its feedback window, the government said “clear perspectives” emerged regarding species at risk protections. “Several Indigenous participants shared concerns about the Species at Risk Act proposal and Fisheries Act proposal.

Specifically, they were concerned that allowing (cabinet) to approve certain activities in exceptional circumstances deemed to be in the public interest, even with high thresholds and strict conditions, could raise questions of potential precedents for legislative overrides of rights-based and environmental protections and infringe on Indigenous rights,” the report read. Still, the report said many stakeholders supported co-ordinating reviews for species at risk. “However, there was a consistent view that streamlining must not become deregulation.

While many stakeholders supported improvements to efficiency, there was opposition to measures that could weaken core environmental safeguards,” the report said. “Of concern were the proposals on the Species at Risk Act, or those that would potentially reduce environmental review requirements, or increase ministerial and cabinet discretion over environmental conditions.” The Building Canada Act — w…