Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ontario Premier Doug Ford have announced the signing of a new co-operation agreement between Ontario and Canada on environmental and impact assessment, which will introduce a ‘one project, one review’ approach to the province’s major infrastructure initiatives.
“Now more than ever, we need to speed up project timelines and provide greater certainty to businesses and communities looking to build and invest,” said Todd McCarthy – Ontario’s minister of the environment, conservation, and parks – in a news release.
“By adopting a ‘one project, one review’ approach in Ontario, we are simplifying major project assessments, catalysing new investment, development, and good-paying careers,” added Dominic LeBlanc, president of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and minister responsible for Canada-US trade, intergovernmental affairs, internal trade, and one Canadian economy.
According to the prime minister’s news release, under the new agreement, the federal and Ontario governments seek to:
- Streamline the assessment process and make it flexible
- Minimize duplication
- Hasten the construction of major projects while strengthening environmental safeguards
- Ensure effective assessments on a case-by-case basis, either through Ontario’s process or a coordinated federal-provincial approach
- Ensure that the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada can provide Ontario with federal support in environmental protection, Indigenous engagement, sustainable project development, and other areas
- Draw in investment in new infrastructure to help expand the economy, support workers and their families, and generate high-paying jobs
“I am confident this agreement will ensure that environmental protection and Indigenous rights continue to be upheld, while reducing duplication during the assessment of major projects in Ontario,” said Julie Dabrusin – federal minister of the environment, climate change, and nature – in the news release.
“With this historic agreement, our two governments are working together to protect Ontario and Canada by removing the unnecessary red tape and regulatory duplication that has stood in the way of nation-building projects for too long,” Ford said.
“Our agreement with Ontario will build major projects faster, helping to diversify our trade partners, strengthen our industries, and empower more Canadians with high-paying careers,” Carney added.
Context
The prime minister’s news release noted that the new agreement between Canada and Ontario is the third of its kind, following one such agreement with New Brunswick, likewise signed last December, and an established agreement on impact assessments with BC in 2019.
The news release added that the federal government’s agreements with Manitoba and Prince Edward Island have wrapped up consultation and are being finalized. On the other hand, Canada and Alberta have been striving to sign a cooperation agreement by Apr. 1, 2026.