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ARTICLE · 16 APRIL 2012

2012 Federal Budget To Streamline Environmental Assessment And Aboriginal Consultation

Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP
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Yesterday, Canada's Minister of Finance released the 2012 budget, which proposes significant changes to the federal environmental assessment (EA) and aboriginal consultation processes.

CanadaEnvironment
Sarah Powell
Sarah Powell
Marc-André Boutin
Marc-André Boutin
Michel Pelletier
Michel Pelletier
Alexandria Pike
Alexandria Pike
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Yesterday, Canada's Minister of Finance released the 2012 budget, which proposes significant changes to the federal environmental assessment (EA) and aboriginal consultation processes. The changes reflect the government's intention to remove regulatory barriers to investment and development. Once implemented, the changes should simplify EA and aboriginal consultation requirements, reduce delays and give provincial governments more control over resource development.

The following improvements are planned:

  • Limit the number of federal authorities involved in EA and aboriginal consultation processes
  • Integrate aboriginal consultation with EA reviews
  • Coordinate federal and provincial aboriginal consultation

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