I am writing to express my…

I am writing to express my concern over your government's weakening of the Environmental Assessment Act. We are in a climate emergency and we should be increasing our protections of the natural world now, more than ever.

All mining projects and major mine-related infrastructure (e.g. smelters, tailings ponds, etc.), especially open-pit mines, should be subject to comprehensive environmental assessment. This is due to their enormous size, the potential risks to the environment and to human health, the liabilities associated with the long-term management and storage of mining waste, and more.

The Environmental Assessment Act should be automatically applied to all major public and private sector undertakings as before, not just a select few as is being proposed here. Relying on “thresholds” or “triggers” is not a good way to assess whether a project should require environmental assessment.

The length and/or size of a project is not an adequate measure of the risk that it poses to the surrounding people and environment (some better measures would be location, design, operational plans, etc.).

I am also alarmed at your government's attempt to restrict public consultation on projects that will have a significant environmental impact. The public should be able to have a say in all environmentally-significant projects, whether public or private, and the only true way to tell whether a project is environmentally significant is to assess it comprehensively. This government should remember that it is accountable to the people and the actions it takes must be transparent.

Further, it needs to be made clear that processes that ensure environmental safety and Indigenous rights are not red tape. I want to live in a province that has robust, clear, predictable, participatory environmental assessment processes that take context and complexity into consideration!

If any project is taking place on the traditional territory of an Indigenous nation, the proponent should be required to obtain free, prior, and informed consent from this community before moving forward. This process should be part of any good environmental assessment.

I will conclude by stating that I am outraged that Bill 197 was passed with no opportunity for meaningful public input, and would like to remind the government of their obligations under the Environmental Bill of Rights.