Ottawa won’t appeal ruling on Impact Assessment Act

The federal government will not appeal an Alberta Court of Appeal ruling that found parts of the Impact Assessment Act unconstitutional, and will amend the law instead, a spokesperson for Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin said Thursday.

Press secretary Amy Falkner told The Canadian Press that Ottawa will change the act to account for the court’s decision, but did not say when the details will be released. She said the government will move quickly to give investors, industry and Indigenous Peoples certainty.

The Alberta Court of Appeal ruled in October that the act still infringes on provincial jurisdiction, even after Ottawa changed it following a 2023 Supreme Court of Canada decision that struck down much of the original law. Canada News Media reported on that ruling when it was released.

In its decision, the court said the law still lets Ottawa stop a project that falls under provincial jurisdiction if it has even a small effect on a federal area of responsibility. It said that creates uncertainty because standards that have not yet been defined could apply to designated projects.

Falkner said that until the amendments are finalized, the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada will work with project proponents to decide the best path for each assessment now under way.

She said the changes will work alongside Bill C-39, which is before Parliament. The bill would shorten project review times and remove the agency’s role in reviewing pipelines, power transmission lines and nuclear and uranium projects. Ottawa wants the Canada Energy Regulator to review pipelines and power lines, and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to review nuclear and uranium projects.

The government has said the energy regulator would still be bound by the Impact Assessment Act when it carries out those reviews. That law is now the one the court has ruled unconstitutional in part, which leaves the design of the new review process tied to the amendments Ottawa has yet to table.

Ottawa has said industry representatives told it during consultations on the bill that the expertise needed to assess energy projects could not be found at the impact assessment agency.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and provincial Justice Minister Mickey Amery issued a joint statement calling the decision not to appeal a win for Albertans. Amery said the amendments will require a major overhaul of the legislation to remove federal interference in projects that sit wholly inside a province.

Smith has called the act the “no new pipelines” law, and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has long called for it to be repealed. The act is also known as Bill C-69.

The decision comes as Ottawa pursues a faster approval process for major projects. Canada News Media has also reported on Alberta’s backing for a bill to repeal the federal oil tanker ban and on Dabrusin’s defence of Canada’s climate record ahead of the COP31 summit.

Source: The Canadian Press, via CBC News.

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