‘Don’t blame us.’.That was the message from a pair Liberal cabinet ministers — the usual suspects — over the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn sections of the No More Pipelines Act, or C-69..Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson and Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault each blamed former prime minister Stephen Harper for the failure of the Environmental Assessment Act..And they vowed to press ahead with legislative changes to amend the existing law to bring it in line with the Supreme Court..“This is not a decision by the Supreme Court, it’s an opinion. The Act remains in effect,” said Guilbeault. “The Government of Canada wants to ensure clarity and certainty for investment in projects this country needs is exactly what the previous Harper government and senior ministers like Pierre Poilievre have failed to provide.”.Added Wilkinson: “We of course, accept the direction provided by the court and we will be bringing forward the necessary amendments. Prior to 2015 under the Harper government's environmental assessment process projects consistently gotten bogged down in years long litigation because the old system failed to take into account how proposed projects could impact the environment and the climate,” he said. .“Harper's gutting of Canada's environmental assessment process in 2012 eroded public trust and confidence in the integrity of the system. That is why during the 2015 election, our government committed to work with industry, environmental organizations and indigenous peoples across the country to establish a new environmental assessment process and agency to review major projects.”.Although they said they “accepted” the court’s view, they also said the Liberal government will not rescind C-69 but change it..“The Supreme Court has found that in a few specific areas, adjustments to the Act are necessary to make it clear that the legislation is more closely tethered to areas of federal jurisdiction. But overall, the Court confirmed that the federal government has the authority to regulate assessments of major projects,” Wilkinson said..“I think a lot of the amendments that would be required are fairly surgical.”.In character, Guilbeault couldn’t help but taking indirect shots at Alberta Premier Danielle Smith..“It is interesting, we talked about project certainty at a time where the premier of a province has put a moratorium in place on a development of $30 billion worth of clean technology and renewable energy projects and at the same time, they're saying we need to provide certainty,” he said. .“But I think in some instances, I would argue that some provincial premiers should probably look in the mirror when they talk about this.”
‘Don’t blame us.’.That was the message from a pair Liberal cabinet ministers — the usual suspects — over the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn sections of the No More Pipelines Act, or C-69..Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson and Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault each blamed former prime minister Stephen Harper for the failure of the Environmental Assessment Act..And they vowed to press ahead with legislative changes to amend the existing law to bring it in line with the Supreme Court..“This is not a decision by the Supreme Court, it’s an opinion. The Act remains in effect,” said Guilbeault. “The Government of Canada wants to ensure clarity and certainty for investment in projects this country needs is exactly what the previous Harper government and senior ministers like Pierre Poilievre have failed to provide.”.Added Wilkinson: “We of course, accept the direction provided by the court and we will be bringing forward the necessary amendments. Prior to 2015 under the Harper government's environmental assessment process projects consistently gotten bogged down in years long litigation because the old system failed to take into account how proposed projects could impact the environment and the climate,” he said. .“Harper's gutting of Canada's environmental assessment process in 2012 eroded public trust and confidence in the integrity of the system. That is why during the 2015 election, our government committed to work with industry, environmental organizations and indigenous peoples across the country to establish a new environmental assessment process and agency to review major projects.”.Although they said they “accepted” the court’s view, they also said the Liberal government will not rescind C-69 but change it..“The Supreme Court has found that in a few specific areas, adjustments to the Act are necessary to make it clear that the legislation is more closely tethered to areas of federal jurisdiction. But overall, the Court confirmed that the federal government has the authority to regulate assessments of major projects,” Wilkinson said..“I think a lot of the amendments that would be required are fairly surgical.”.In character, Guilbeault couldn’t help but taking indirect shots at Alberta Premier Danielle Smith..“It is interesting, we talked about project certainty at a time where the premier of a province has put a moratorium in place on a development of $30 billion worth of clean technology and renewable energy projects and at the same time, they're saying we need to provide certainty,” he said. .“But I think in some instances, I would argue that some provincial premiers should probably look in the mirror when they talk about this.”
