I am concerned that the…

I am concerned that the government is seeking to erode water protection laws by allowing some water-taking activities to proceed without an upfront government review. Without a review, companies, with the help of private engineers, could self-register their projects on the Environmental Activity and Sector Registry (EASR) and execute right away without proper scrutiny. I am particularly concerned that the Ministry will not be conducting detailed reviews to assess potential impacts of specified operations and that public participation and appeal rights under the Environmental Bill of Rights will no longer apply. In addition, allowing up to 379,000 litres of groundwater taking per day without a permit threatens aquifers, impacts wells, and strains municipal infrastructure. Removing the requirement to inform Conservation Authorities about water-taking limits their ability to protect drinking water sources.