Earlier this year, the City of Williams Lake submitted the following UBCM (Union of BC Municipalities) Resolution:
WHEREAS British Columbia and Canada have differing legislative responsibilities and utilize separate environmental assessment processes to support their respective roles in approving major resource developments;
AND WHEREAS the use of separate environmental assessment processes results in a fragmented and disconnected evaluation of impacts and places an excessive burden on development proponents:
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that UBCM encourage British Columbia and Canada to amalgamate their environmental impact assessment processes for major resource developments.
However, the UBCM Resolution Committee now notes the following, with regard to the above Resolution:
ENDORSED BY THE NORTH CENTRAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION
UBCM RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION: Not Endorse
UBCM RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE COMMENTS:
The Resolutions Committee notes that the UBCM membership considered but did not endorse resolution 2010- A1, which called on the provincial and federal governments to harmonize their environmental assessment review processes into one integrated process. The Committee notes that prior to 2010 UBCM had long-standing policy supporting the harmonization of federal and provincial environmental assessment processes. The federal and provincial governments had an agreement to facilitate the harmonization of the assessment review process. However, a recent court decision has indicated that the federal government cannot transfer its legal responsibility for undertaking environmental assessments.
It'll be interesting to see if the City's UBCM Resolution goes down to defeat, similiar to the same Resolution proposed by the Town of Stewart in 2010, and on the same subject as follows:
WHEREAS many potential projects of economic importance to British Columbia are required to undergo a separate, thorough, and detailed environmental assessment review with both the government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia;
AND WHEREAS the Province of British Columbia has successfully processed these environmental assessments in a more timely manner than the federal government has been able to;
AND WHEREAS many of these projects are important to the economic and social well-being of British Columbians throughout the entire province and lengthy delays in the environmental assessment process has the potential to cause many projects to be lost:
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that UBCM support the initiative of the Province of British Columbia to combine the environmental assessment review processes of both the provincial and the federal government into one integrated process and urges the Government of Canada to support the initiative for the betterment of British Columbians and Canadians.
WHEREAS British Columbia and Canada have differing legislative responsibilities and utilize separate environmental assessment processes to support their respective roles in approving major resource developments;
AND WHEREAS the use of separate environmental assessment processes results in a fragmented and disconnected evaluation of impacts and places an excessive burden on development proponents:
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that UBCM encourage British Columbia and Canada to amalgamate their environmental impact assessment processes for major resource developments.
However, the UBCM Resolution Committee now notes the following, with regard to the above Resolution:
ENDORSED BY THE NORTH CENTRAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION
UBCM RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION: Not Endorse
UBCM RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE COMMENTS:
The Resolutions Committee notes that the UBCM membership considered but did not endorse resolution 2010- A1, which called on the provincial and federal governments to harmonize their environmental assessment review processes into one integrated process. The Committee notes that prior to 2010 UBCM had long-standing policy supporting the harmonization of federal and provincial environmental assessment processes. The federal and provincial governments had an agreement to facilitate the harmonization of the assessment review process. However, a recent court decision has indicated that the federal government cannot transfer its legal responsibility for undertaking environmental assessments.
It'll be interesting to see if the City's UBCM Resolution goes down to defeat, similiar to the same Resolution proposed by the Town of Stewart in 2010, and on the same subject as follows:
WHEREAS many potential projects of economic importance to British Columbia are required to undergo a separate, thorough, and detailed environmental assessment review with both the government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia;
AND WHEREAS the Province of British Columbia has successfully processed these environmental assessments in a more timely manner than the federal government has been able to;
AND WHEREAS many of these projects are important to the economic and social well-being of British Columbians throughout the entire province and lengthy delays in the environmental assessment process has the potential to cause many projects to be lost:
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that UBCM support the initiative of the Province of British Columbia to combine the environmental assessment review processes of both the provincial and the federal government into one integrated process and urges the Government of Canada to support the initiative for the betterment of British Columbians and Canadians.
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