New Federal Timelines For Energy Project Approvals

The federal government has proposed controversial new rules to govern approvals for projects, including many Major Energy Projects. The pace and direction of future development of Canada's energy sector could lie in the balance.

• Bill C-69 proposes a new 5-stage Impact Assessment process that could easily take more than 5 years to complete.
• The federal proposals are designed to encourage the regulatory phases of the Impact Assessment process to be completed within approximately 2 ½ years – or roughly 30 months.
• Other portions of the process, which are in the hands of project proponents, are expected to be completed within a further 3 years – or roughly 36 months.
• Whether these timelines will actually work or not will likely depend on the commitment of the federal government to respect and apply the legislated timelines rather than to suspend or extend them.