The provincial and federal governments have reached an agreement to reduce the time it takes to complete environmental assessments.
NL’s representative in the federal cabinet, Joanne Thompson and provincial cabinet minister Chris Tibbs made the announcement yesterday, outlining a plan to significantly streamline the regulatory process.
Tibbs attended yesterday’s media availability in place of Minister Andrea Barbour who was absent.
Federal Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson (VOCM News)
Thompson says the new framework will eliminate duplication between Ottawa and the province, with the goal of having major assessments completed within a single year.
“Anyone who’s been through the process in the past has been really clear about how long it’s taken, and often a lot of that time was caught in overlap,” she said.
“By looking at all of our processes, both provincial and federal, and then within departments to say what is it that we can do in departments to streamline the process, that’s really what this is about.”
The practice has already been adopted in a number of provinces.
