Responsible Resource Development is Good for Ontario and Good for Canada

Ottawa Journal (Ottawa Journal (April 30 - May 04, 2021)
David Tilson, MP

Canada’s economic development has for too long been held hostage to an archaic system of job-killing regulation that does nothing to protect the environment. Our Government will not sit idly by – we are taking the action necessary to fix the system.

The proposed changes for Responsible Resource Development will streamline Canada’s review system while ensuring the environment is protected by:

• Making reviews for major projects more predictable and timely;
• Reducing duplication and regulatory burden;
• Strengthening environmental protection; and
• Enhancing consultations with Aboriginal peoples.

Our regulatory system is one of the biggest impediments to strong economic growth in Canada. The current review system is a maze of rules and reviews that have been introduced piecemeal throughout the years. The result has been delays and the review of thousands of minor projects that have little to no environmental effect, such as a temporary hockey rink and the construction of a building to wash blueberries. These reviews all take resources to usher them through the regulatory system.

We need to focus our regulatory system on the projects that matter – the major projects that may have environmental impacts and need to be studied. Our proposed changes will do precisely this while also ensuring the protection of the environment. In addition to streamlining the system, we are putting additional resources towards ensuring the environment is protected, such as increasing the number of pipeline inspections and introducing new guidelines for tanker traffic off Canada’s coasts.

We need to reform our system. There is over $500 billion in potential investment over the next 10 years in our resource sector. This is the equivalent of a company the size of Apple relocating to Canada every two years.

In Ontario alone, companies are looking at investing $108 billion over the next ten years. Whether that is the Detour Lake Gold Mine in Ontario or the Horn River Natural Gas Pipeline in British Columbia, these projects will create jobs across Canada.

This investment will create hundreds of thousands of jobs and economic growth across Canada. From manufacturing to the service sector to the financial sector – every sector of Canada’s economy has something to gain from resource development. For example, the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters say that, “We often think of energy and resource developments in remote terms - geographically removed from the lives of most Canadians. The fact is that all Canadians stand to benefit in very real ways from the wealth created by these developments."

While this investment will help create hundreds of thousands of jobs across Canada, it is not guaranteed. We cannot sit idly by and expect these companies to invest in Canada. We must put in place the conditions necessary to attract these job-creating projects. This is precisely what our Government’s Responsible Resource Development plan will do.