Canadian Government Pledges To Enact Regulatory Reforms Related To Infrastructure, Supply Chains

On May 8, the Government of Canada announced a regulatory reform plan that, when fully implemented, will limit review of major infrastructure projects to 12 months. “For too long, nation-building infrastructure — including ports, railways, energy corridors, critical mineral developments, and clean energy — has been bogged down in red tape, leaving enormous investment on the table,” the government said in a press release. “[W]e must go further to streamline review and approvals processes, to ensure we build a stronger, more resilient Canadian economy for all.”

Over the next 30 days, the government will engage with stakeholders to discuss potential changes that would:

• Ensure federal reviews and decision-making timelines take no more than one year, once all information from the project proponent has been received;
• Establish a Crown Consultation Hub to strengthen consultation on project reviews and coordinate one Indigenous consultation process, per community, per project;
• Create a regulatory system where a single comprehensive federal decision is made on permits and approvals for major projects;
• Assign responsibility and authority for certain projects to the federal regulatory organization with the most expertise; and
• Create federal economic zones through regional impact assessments, in consultation with Indigenous Peoples.

The government also pledged to advance proposals to diversify Canada’s trade and attract new investment. These initiatives include:

• Modernizing Canada’s National Transportation Policy to emphasize the importance of supply chain efficiency through the designation of National Trade Corridors;
• Modernizing Canada’s port governance framework to better reflect the realities of modern trade and the role of marine infrastructure in supporting Canada’s non-U.S. trade diversification goals, and foster collaboration amongst the port authorities; and
• Adopting a “tell-us-once” approach to information sharing between departments and agencies and streamlining redundancies and inefficiencies that exist within transportation regulations.