New B.C. legislation to speed up public and private projects, says minister

New legislation proposed in British Columbia would accelerate major public and private projects, including mines and other natural resource operations, Infrastructure Minister Bowinn Ma said Thursday. 

The government has previously promised to speed uppermitting to improve the provincial economy after last year's election, then amid tariff and annexation threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Ma said in the legislature that the Infrastructure Projects Act tabled Thursday will designate projects that are significant tothe province and oversee their planning, procurement anddelivery. 

She said the changes would give the province additional power to speed up government projects as well as other significant enterprises that provide economic, environmental or social benefits for the province. 

Ma said the legislation would give cabinet the power todesignate projects as significant on a case-by-case basis, andthat they could originate from Crown corporations, local governments, First Nations or the private sector. 

The minister said the legislation, if passed, will accelerate permitting through an alternative environmental assessment process and other streamlining tools, promising that none of them would change the quality of assessments or obligations to First Nations under the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. 

Ma also said the province would consult with partners from various sectors. 

During a later news conference on Thursday with Premier David Eby, Ma said the province has already taken steps tospeed up various projects, but added more needs to be done. 

"Some projects continue to face unnecessary delays due toslow, unclear or duplicative approval processes, often with lengthy, overlapping permitting requirements," she said. 

She added that B.C. needs to deliver projects faster in the face of population growth and economic threats from the United States. 

The legislation would allow cabinet to determine which projects are provincially significant through orders-in-council, raising the possibility that government could use the tool topush through projects that may be unpopular, such as supportive housing or safe injection sites. 

"The answer is no," Ma said in response to the question of forcing through unpopular projects. "In essence, this legislation will enable government to expand on work already underway to reduce redundancies, not standards, but redundancies, so that we can get shovels in the ground faster." 

Faster processes would not only deliver projects sooner, but also save the public money, she added.

Eby said the act builds on legislation introduced earlier this week to speed up renewable energy projects, adding that it won't be used to rush liquefied natural gas or heavy oil pipelines.

"For LNG plants themselves or for pipelines, that is not what this legislation is about," he said. "However, we will be using it for energy security."

He said B.C. has a "lot of work to do" in the energy sector. 

"We have climate goals that we are shooting for," he said. "We have a priority around clean energy and clean electricity."

A government report tabled Tuesday acknowledged that B.C. would only meet half of its goals to lower greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. 

The province had committed itself to reducing 2007 emission levels by 40 per cent by 2030, but it is currently on track toreduce emissions by about 20 per cent.   

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck