Ontario continues to throw environmental pre-caution to the wind with Bill 197 – OKT
On Tuesday, the Ontario government passed the Omnibus COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act, 2020 (aka Bill 197) which makes significant changes to Ontario’s environmental assessment (EA) process. How exactly these changes will affect First Nations in Ontario is difficult to know as the final details of how the new system will work in practice are yet to be disclosed. However, given Ontario’s deep commitment to “streamline” the environmental review process and increase “efficiency” for proponents, chances are good that the changes will have a negative impact on the ability of First Nations in Ontario to be meaningfully consulted and accommodated (or even notified) about projects occurring in their territories.
The key changes are:
- Individual EAs will be replaced with a project list, subject to “Comprehensive” EAs.
- Standardization of the terms of reference for Comprehensive EAs in some sectors (which sectors and how they are to be standardized is yet to be disclosed).
- Shift from Class EAs (which essentially pre-approve a class of projects subject to certain conditions) with “streamlined EAs” created by regulation.
- Creation of new timelines for EAs including a maximum 10-year limit for EA completion.
