The Timmins Chamber of Commerce has secured a major national partner in its efforts to reduce the obstacles faced by natural resource industries pursuing projects in Canada.

At the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s (CCC) annual general meeting in Fredericton, NB on Sept. 23-25, the Timmins Chamber successfully lobbied more than 330 Chamber representatives from across the country to support a call by Timmins businesses to improve Canada’s environmental assessment (EA) system. Adopted by the CCC with a 99.6 percent support on the debate floor, the Timmins Chamber resolution calls on the federal government to simplify the EA system, increase its public transparency, and have it provide more opportunities for Indigenous communities to participate in the process.

These changes would provide much-needed changes to Canada’s EA processes, which currently create duplication and delays, posing many risks to new and existing projects alike while threatening the economic potential for resource-focused communities like Timmins, according to Timmins Chamber President Jamie Clarke.

“This is an important win not just for Timmins businesses and our local economy, but for all of Canada’s natural resource industries,” said Clarke.

“Now that our policy resolution has been adopted with the support of businesses from coast to coast, it is now an official position of the Canadian Chamber, which will advocate for our ideas over the next three years. In other words, the country’s largest and most influential business advocacy group will now use the full weight of the 200,000 businesses it represents to make sure that our made-in-Timmins policy is heard at the highest levels of government. It’s a major achievement for Timmins Chamber members, and we’re proud to have developed and passed this on their behalf.”

The success of the Timmins Chamber in pushing for the adoption of its resolution is timely, said Clarke, as the federal government is currently undertaking a full review of Canada’s EA processes with an eye on passing new legislation in 2018.

This holds some challenges, as many of the changes recently proposed by a government-appointed expert panel to reform the current system threaten to hurt industry rather than help it to navigate the EA process with reliability and predictability.

It is crucial that the government consider the needs of industry throughout this review, said Clarke, as natural resource industries like mining and forestry are subject to EAs at both the provincial and federal levels through the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. This has led to two separate and often duplicate processes whose delays have led to weakened business cases for projects, unnecessarily complicated consultations, and reduced overall competitiveness.

In response, the Timmins Chamber resolution, entitled Improving Federal Environmental Assessment Processes, proposes that the current federal review consider implementing a series of eight changes.

Among others, these recommendations include asking the federal government to:

  • Take a “one project, one assessment” approach, allowing businesses to streamline the process in cases where provincial requirements are equal to or more stringent that those at the federal level
  • Improve timelines and reducing red tape for EAs by working more closely with industry and the provinces to identify efficiencies, while providing more scientific support for the process
  • Make all information generated throughout the EA process – including post-assessment monitoring and enforcement — publicly available through an online library or registry
  • Ensure Indigenous peoples have the capacity to participate in the EA project review process by enhancing funding for participation, developing strategies to build longer-term capacity within communities, and engaging them as early in the process as possible to jointly determine desired outcomes

“If we have the opportunity to review how Canada handles environmental assessments, we need to make sure we get it right,” said Clarke. “Any new federal legislation to change EAs must improve the reliability and timing of the process, and avoid introducing new elements that would add more complications and delays. With the Canadian Chamber as a new partner on this file, we look forward to working with them and the Canadian government to ensure that resource-focused communities like Timmins can continue to grow and thrive.”

The Timmins Chamber policy was crafted in consultation between the Timmins Chamber’s Government Regulation and Policy Committee, area businesses, and a broad number of partners across Canada.

Partners that the Timmins Chamber were able to bring on as co-sponsors in support of its CCC resolution include the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce, the St. John’s Board of Trade, the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce, Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce, as well as the Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce. The range of national partnerships involved in building this resolution is a sign of the nationwide scope of the issue, said Clarke.

To view the full versions of the policy that will now be championed by the CCC, please visit the Chamber’s website at www.timminschamber.on.ca, or view it directly at https://tinyurl.com/EAReform2017

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