Ottawa and Ontario have signed a cooperation agreement aiming to speed up approval timelines and reduce regulatory burden on major projects, including the road to the Ring of Fire region in northern Ontario.
The agreement introduces a “one project, one review” approach to major projects in Ontario, meant to streamline the environmental impact assessment process for major projects that require both a federal and provincial assessment, Prime Minister Mark Carney said at a Dec. 18 press conference alongside Ontario Premier Doug Ford.
“By working together, we’ll be providing greater certainty to builders so we can turbocharge the construction of the infrastructure Ontario and Canada needs to build our economy strong,” Carney said, adding that the new approach will aim to reduce duplication in the assessment phase to allow projects to be built faster….