The federal government is proceeding with adjustments that will exclude several energy projects from a layer of its environmental evaluation process. Projects such as pipelines and transmission lines that cross international or provincial boundaries, alongside offshore renewable energy projects, will no longer undergo an environmental review by the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC), as per the latest regulations disclosed in the Canada Gazette on Wednesday. Instead, these projects will be exclusively assessed by the Canada Energy Regulator (CER).
According to a government news release, the CER possesses the necessary expertise to conduct impact assessments that analyze a project’s impacts on various environmental aspects, including air quality, water resources, soil conditions, climate change, wildlife, endangered species, and Canada’s environmental commitments. Certain oilsands extraction projects and fossil fuel-fired power generation ventures are also being removed from the roster of projects subject to IAAC scrutiny, the release added.
The changes were introduced following Prime Minister Mark Carney’s pledge to streamline regulatory approvals for major projects in the previous election. The Liberals, supported by the Conservatives, passed Bill C-5 shortly after the 2025 election, allowing expedited reviews for projects deemed to be in the national interest. Nonetheless, these modifications will affect assessments for other major projects not falling under that category.
In May, the government initially proposed these changes as part of a package of measures and subsequently initiated consultations on the proposed reforms, which concluded in July. The outcome of these consultations was made public on Tuesday, coinciding with the announcement of the regulatory adjustments.
While some environmental groups have criticized the move as detrimental to Canada’s environmental protections and climate efforts, Heather Exner-Pirot, the director of energy, natural resources, and environment at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, emphasized that there will still be an environmental assessment in place, albeit now conducted by a single regulator instead of two. She highlighted that these regulatory changes coincide with an upcoming “investors summit” to be hosted by Carney, signaling the government’s commitment to fostering an inviting environment for capital investment in Canada.