OTTAWA — A coalition of oil and gas industry groups, chambers of commerce and manufacturers associations say there is no room to fix the government’s environmental assessment legislation.
The Save Canadian Jobs coalition is changing their slogan from “Fix Bill C-69” to “Stop Bill C-69” after the government rejected most of the changes proposed last week by the Senate.
Environment Minister Catherine McKenna said she would accept 99 Senate amendments but rejected those which she says would have made it optional to take into account the impact of projects on Indigenous rights and climate change.
The legislation overhauls Canada’s assessment of major national project proposals for their environmental, economic, health and social impacts.
The Senate now has to decide whether to pass the bill without all of its proposed amendments or kill it off entirely, leaving it to the next Parliament to fix the environmental assessment process.
That vote is expected later this week; on Tuesday, the federal cabinet will decide whether the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion will be approved for a second time.
(The Canadian Press)
