ENVI Committee Report
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“BEYOND BILL C-9: TOWARD A NEW VISION FOR
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT”
Quebec has always rejected any process pursuant to which the federal government would decide whether or not to approve projects with a potential environmental impact.
On February 28, 1992, the Quebec Minister of Environment wrote a letter to the federal Minister of Environment of the day, stating his opposition to proposed federal environmental assessment legislation. In this letter, the Quebec Minister stated, “[TRANSLATION] We believe that the existing provisions of the proposed legislation are far from adequate in terms of eliminating all possible duplication and paving the way for concrete agreements on the terms and conditions of our respective procedures.”
In fact, in 1992, the Quebec National Assembly passed a unanimous resolution opposing the federal government approach, which constitutes a direct interference into Quebec’s jurisdiction. The motion read as follows: “That the National Assembly strongly disapproves of the federal government bill, an act to establish a federal environmental assessment process, because it is contrary to the higher interests of Quebec, and that the National Assembly opposes its passage by the federal Parliament.” Since that time, the government of Quebec has not taken part in any discussion on this question.
More recently, the Quebec Liberals promised that, if elected — which was the case — they would conclude an agreement with the federal government, as quickly as possible, to harmonize and, in fact, delegate responsibility for the environmental assessment process to province of Quebec.
In 2001, federal mismanagement of the hydroelectric plant project on the Toulnoustouc River delayed the project, which was of significant importance to the region, by several months. In June 2001, following an environmental assessment, public consultations in Baie-Comeau and Betsiamites, 13 public hearings and the participation of some 650 individuals in the work of the Commission, the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE) approved this extensive project. The hydroelectric plant was expected to generate up to 800 jobs a year at the peak of construction, as well as economic benefits of approximately $1.2 million a year. However, after waiting for the provincial public consultations to end, the federal Department of Environment decided to implement its own assessment process, thus duplicating the analysis already carried out by Quebec.
Quebec wants all projects in its territory to be subjected to its own environmental assessment process carried out by the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE), regardless of whether there is federal involvement in the project.
This provincial process:
| • | is more transparent in terms of public participation; |
| • | is independent, compared with the federal government’s self-assessment philosophy; |
| • | excludes fewer projects at the outset and therefore provides broader environmental protection; |
| • | is less complicated than the federal process; |
| • | is more homogeneous, given that it is managed by a single entity rather than several federal departments; and |
| • | has clearly established deadlines, compared with the federal process, which never provides very precise timeframes. |
The Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development has proposed a new vision for environmental assessment. Fundamentally, however, it continues to reject the fact that environmental assessment of projects carried out in Quebec falls under the province’s exclusive jurisdiction. This failure to recognize the provincial environmental assessment process denies legitimate claims of Quebec’s interests in this area.
Although the Environmental Quality Act already exempts the Cree people from the federal environmental assessment process pursuant to the provisions of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, which already provides for environmental assessments, the Committee refuses to follow suit. In this regard, we support the claim of the Grand Council of the Cree that the Cree have special status under section 22 of the JBNQA.
In closing, it is the right and duty of Quebec to evaluate the environmental impact of projects in its territory. All duplication of effort burdens the assessment structures and wastes resources that could be used more effectively to better serve the environment.
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