Everything You Need to Know about Canada’s Plan to Weaken Environmental Protections
Credit – Nick Hawkins
Everything You Need to Know about Canada’s Plan to Weaken Environmental Protections
Oceans North | August 5, 2026
We’re urging the Government of Canada to withdraw a new plan that would weaken the guardrails that protect people and nature in order to fast-track “projects of national importance.” Here’s what you need to know about the proposal—and how you can take action.
What is the “Getting Major Projects Built in Canada” discussion paper?
Discussion papers are documents used to outline proposed legislative, regulatory, or policy changes and solicit feedback from the public.
On May 12, 2026, the Government of Canada released a discussion paper entitled “Getting Major Projects Built in Canada,” proposing far-reaching changes to the impact assessment processes that protect Canadians—and the environments we rely on—from harmful development.
What are impact assessments?
An impact assessment is a legislated planning and decision-making process that evaluates the potential effects of large infrastructure projects (e.g., mines, ports, and pipelines) before they are built.
This process applies to projects most likely to have significant negative consequences for the environment and public, making it a crucial step before shovels hit the ground. It also provides a way for the government to gather public opinion and consult with Indigenous communities whose territories and rights may be affected. In practice, an impact assessment ends with the Minister or Cabinet determining, on behalf of Canadians, whether the harm a project may cause outweighs the perceived benefit it may deliver, as well as creating binding conditions under which a project may proceed.
What is the Government of Canada proposing?
In an attempt to fast-track the development of projects deemed of “national importance,” the government is proposing significant changes to impact assessments which, if approved, would make it harder to measure a project’s potential impacts, meaningfully address them, or hold project proponents accountable to their duty to mitigate them. Here are some of the key changes we are concerned about:
Impact assessments on a compressed timeline
How long an impact assessment takes varies. Generally, the process can proceed on a relatively short timeline, typically two to three years for straightforward projects where the proponent arrives prepared. This period is needed to gather relevant information, both through scientific study and through consultation with Indigenous rightsholders.
This proposal would compress this process into a single year, shrinking the opportunity to rigorously evaluate the complex, and potentially harmful, impacts a project may have.
Overriding of the Species at Risk Jeopardy Test
The jeopardy test is a scientific threshold that establishes the point beyond which additional harm to a species at risk would place its survival or recovery out of reach. It is, effectively, the last line of defence before the extinction of an entire species is “authorized.”
The proposal would give Cabinet the power to exempt projects of their choosing from this important test, setting a dangerous precedent that political and economic interests could determine that the value of a project outweighs the survival of a species.
Strictly political decision-making
The proposal hands over significant political authority regarding the outcome of an impact assessment and the conditions under which a project may proceed to Cabinet officials.
Without clear limits, transparency requirements, and accountability mechanisms, this risks replacing independent, evidence-based review with political decision-making, where due process involving years of technical review and Indigenous consultation can be overruled after the fact.
Why are we concerned?
When the potential impacts of a new development are not rigorously assessed—with great scrutiny, guardrails, and public input—Canadians pay the price, not companies. Families bear the health impacts of pollution. Businesses that depend on healthy, functioning ecosystems lose the foundation of their livelihoods. Indigenous rightsholders lose access to sources of food security and cultural continuity. And taxpayers are left to settle accounts on the public ledger, often at a cost that far exceeds any benefit the project delivered.
While we appreciate the government’s desire to build projects quickly and efficiently, outcomes like these cannot credibly be described as “in the national interest.”
Image – Rivers are critical infrastructure—natural pipelines that move fresh water across the country and throughout our communities. Protecting them protects what keeps Canada strong.
What are we recommending?
We believe Canada can build its economy while protecting the natural infrastructure that makes us strong and honouring the rights of all Canadians to live in a healthy environment.
Oceans North is urging the Government of Canada to withdraw its proposal and, instead, put forth a revised approach that reflects the input of Canadians and Indigenous rightsholders, subjecting a new proposal to rigorous review by the House of Commons and Senate. You can read our full submission to the government here.
How can you help protect nature?
While the comment period has now closed, our work has just begun. The House of Commons returns on September 21. At this time, the government will be required to address the public’s feedback on the discussion paper before drafting a bill of members of Parliament and the Senate to debate and vote on. If approved, the government will move quickly to amend Canadian law to enable its proposed changes.
As you prepare to take action in the fall—we’ll have more information on this soon—here’s what you can do to stay informed:
Stay up to date. Check back in with our newsletter and socials for the latest news.
Learn more about what’s at stake. We’ve made it easy to be “in the know.” More on the impact assessment processes that protect Canadians, here.
Tell your friends! If approved, this proposal would significantly impact our communities. Be sure to tell yours what’s at stake this fall.