Three months have passed since my last day at Postmedia News. In that time, I’ve heard from some who are curious about what I’ve been working on.
I used to archive old published stories on this page. But from now on it will be the spot to keep track of my latest investigations.
Published by Postmedia News on Friday Jun 15 2012
OTTAWA – Up to 5,000 federal environmental assessments of economic projects are conducted every year under existing laws, but the Harper government`s proposal to repeal the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act could eliminate “most” of those reviews, said Environment Minister Peter Kent in a statement tabled in Parliament before it began a marathon voting session earlier this week on legislation tied to the federal budget.
Kent also said he didn’t know how provincial governments would be able to match Canada’s national standards under proposed rules that would allow them to substitute for federal assessments with their own reviews.
“Under the current act, approximately 4,000-5,000 EAs (environmental assessments) are conducted by federal authorities every year, 99 per cent of which are for small projects with little or no risk to the environment,” said the statement, signed by Kent, in response to questions raised by Liberal environment critic Kirsty Duncan.
Mike De Souza 