There are two parts of this…

There are two parts of this document that are especially concerning.

"While it’s possible that the prescribed activities may interfere with the water supply for other users and may include discharge to the natural environment..."

If these activities are interfering with water supply and possibly being discharged to the natural environment, I see no reason why they should be exempted. As quoted below, registrants can begin their activity without any review process, which is reckless and does nothing to protect the people, animals and land where these water taking activities take place.

"Registration on the EASR is immediate, which means registrants may complete their assessments, register online and undertake the water taking activity immediately once confirmation of registration has been given. The ministry does not actively review such registrations at first instance. However, registrants will have to abide by all relevant regulatory obligations (including record keeping) related to the registered activity."

This is essentially allowing them to operate on the honour system, which is not an adequate way for the government to protect its citizens and the land and water we depend on for our health and happiness.

The proposed amendment states "Reducing regulatory burden for construction activities is expected to make it easier to build infrastructure which is vital to the province’s economic recovery following the state of provincial emergency." This is NO time to be reducing environmental protections, and COVID should not be used as an excuse to do so.