The Death and Dying of Canadian Environmental Assessment Laws

Apparently the Conservative government of Canada thinks that environmental regulation is old hat. In a political move right out of the nightmares of Orwell, Stephen Harper and his gang of suits are now moving quickly to eliminate laws requiring environmental assessments on construction dams, pipelines, tar sands mines and nuclear reactors.

First, John Baird, the Minister of Transport, was given authority under the slime-ball budget legislation approved by a hijacked Parliament in March to evade environmental assessments of projects (such as dams and bridges) . Then Jim Prentice, Minister of Environment, announced new regulations-without any public or industry consultation-excluding 2000 "economic stimulus" projects per year from environmental assessment.

Minister Prentice also is planning to introduce a bill into Parliament removing all remaining requirements that environmental assessments be conducted. He would then have unfettered personal discretion to determine if any federal environmental assessment for a federally authorized project is to be conducted.

Less regulation, less public consultation, less oversight? That's the kind of governmentality that leads to abuse of powers, corruption and the kind of economic russian roulette which landed the Western world in the worst economic crisis since the 1930s. It's quite simply disgusting.