Today, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and member of the Ministerial Working Group on Regulatory Efficiency for Clean Growth Projects, announced a new Cabinet Directive on Regulatory and Permitting Efficiency for Clean Growth Projects at the Energy and Mines Ministers' Conference in Calgary, Alberta.
Getting clean growth projects built is how we create and support good, well-paying jobs, grow our economy and fight climate change. The government is taking concrete steps to get good projects built faster and help Canadians take advantage of these opportunities.
At its core, the Cabinet Directive will ensure clean growth projects get built faster by providing whole-of-government direction to federal officials to accelerate decision-making. This is the first major deliverable from the government's Action Plan, announced two weeks ago, Building Canada's Clean Future. As federal departments work together to implement items outlined in the Action Plan, this Cabinet Directive establishes governance and accountability structures to improve coordination across federal entities and provide investors and project proponents with the certainty they need to build.
The Ministerial Working Group on Regulatory Efficiency for Clean Growth Projects has been exploring ways to improve federal assessment and permitting processes for clean growth projects since 2023. The Working Group has heard from internal and external stakeholders to seek input and recommendations on enhancing system efficiency and predictability, including industry experts, labour leaders and Indigenous Peoples. This Cabinet Directive is the result of that work.
The Cabinet Directive will help get clean growth projects built faster by removing duplication and red tape, and ensuring coordinated consultations with Indigenous rights-holders, without compromising environmental and biodiversity protections. It outlines four concrete steps to improve efficiency:
- Establishing a Federal Permitting Coordinator on clean growth projects within the Privy Council Office's Clean Growth Office to coordinate activities across all federal entities responsible for reviewing clean growth projects.
- Standing up a new Federal Permitting Dashboard that will provide a public snapshot of the status of clean growth projects which require federal assessment and permitting decisions, to improve predictability and transparency from start to finish.
- Setting assessment and permitting targets of 5 years for federally designated projects, 2 years or less for non-federally designated projects, and 3 years for nuclear projects.
- Establishing a Crown Consultation Coordinator to ensure meaningful Crown consultation with Indigenous Peoples on the issuance of federal authorizations.
The Government of Canada is taking action to help Canadian businesses, workers, communities, and Indigenous Peoples seize the economic opportunities ahead, fight climate change, and make life more affordable. By making sure assessment and permitting processes are more efficient and timelier, we will secure investments, attract and accelerate clean growth projects, and build the projects that position us for success now and for generations to come.
