Fast-tracking certain major projects is necessary, but not enough to drive investment: report

Alex Pourbaix, board chair for Cenovus Energy Inc. and incoming chair for the business council. Photo by Brent Calver/Postmedia files

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Ottawa’s new system for fast-tracking select major projects creates a two-tier path for approvals that still leaves Canada at a competitive disadvantage for investment, according to a new report released by the Business Council of Alberta.

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The report, released Monday, argues that the Carney government’s move to expedite certain nation-building projects through a Major Projects Office was a necessary step — but one that fails to solve the regulatory challenges facing others.

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“Canada isn’t losing investment; we’re regulating it away,” said Adam Legge, president of the business council. “Our regulatory and project approval system has become the single-biggest barrier to attracting capital.

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“The solutions are clear. We need faster and more certain timelines, removal of duplication, and predictable decision-making. If Canada is serious about growth and getting major projects built, the time to act is now.”

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The report noted that business investment per worker in Canada has fallen by almost 11 per cent in the last decade, while in the United States it has grown by about 45 per cent over the same period.

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It points the finger at federal regulatory requirements which the authors say increased by 37 per cent between 2006 and 2021.

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The business council is urging a major overhaul of project reviews and approvals under Canada’s Impact Assessment Act and the Canadian Energy Regulator Act.

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The report recommends a suite of changes aimed at making federal approvals faster, more predictable and less duplicative. Key among the proposals is a “one project, one review, one decision” system to ensure projects primarily regulated by provinces are reviewed provincially, not by the federal government. It also calls for firm timelines, including two years or less to complete reviews.

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There are several recommendations desired by the energy industry, including that all federal pipeline project reviews be led by the Canada Energy Regulator, rather than the Impact Assessment Agency.

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It also called on Ottawa to act quickly to repeal the ban on big oil tankers along the northern coast of British Columbia.

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Currently, particularly for pipeline projects, proponents can go through a multi-year process, investing hundreds of millions of dollars before they understand if their project will have government support, said Alex Pourbaix, board chair for Cenovus Energy Inc. and incoming chair for the business council.

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“We have a system that is inherently political, because at the very end of the day, it’s not an independent regulator that is putting thumbs up or thumbs down. It is the federal cabinet,” he said.

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More to come…

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