Former minister says energy project review changes could cause further delays – CHAT News Today
May 12, 2026
OTTAWA — The former environment minister who helped to create the Impact Assessment Agency eight years ago says the federal government’s proposal to change how pipelines are assessed risks delaying those projects even further.
“I’m not saying you couldn’t improve the process. But trying to jam through projects and making major changes, similar to what we saw under Stephen Harper, isn’t going to do that. It’s not,” Catherine McKenna told The Canadian Press.
McKenna was the environment minister in 2018 when the federal government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau introduced Bill C-69, the Impact Assessment Act, to overhaul major project reviews. The goal of the legislation was to expedite project reviews and provide confidence and clarity for both Indigenous consultations and environmental impact reviews.
