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ARTICLE · 12 JULY 2019

Timelines, Completion Risk And Federal Project Reviews

Stikeman Elliott LLP
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Traditionally the declaratory policy of the Canadian federal government, key provinces and peer jurisdictions has been to complete project reviews in 24 to 30 months (+/-6)

CanadaEnergy and Natural Resources
Glenn Cameron
Glenn Cameron
Rachel Hutton
Rachel Hutton
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How significant are the delays in obtaining federal approvals for proposed energy projects in Canada? And what are the completion risks that result from these delays?

  • Traditionally the declaratory policy of the Canadian federal government, key provinces and peer jurisdictions has been to complete project reviews in 24 to 30 months (+/-6) – or roughly between 18 to 36 months.
  • In practice the Canadian federal government has tended to complete reviews within this time frame only for – or principally for - smaller, more routine and/or relatively uncontroversial energy projects.
  • Larger and more controversial projects have tended to take longer: some of the most strategically significant federal project reviews have taken 60 months (or 5 years) more or less and several key project reviews have taken the better part of a decade to complete.

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