Speaking Notes - Kieran Hanley - EA Announcement

April 4, 2019 Statement from NEIA’s Executive Director Kieran Hanley Re: Beginning of Public Consultations on NL Environmental Assessment -Thank you Minister Letto.

The reform of the environmental regulatory framework is something that NEIA and its members have been advocating for for some time, and so we are pleased to be with the Minister today in his announcement that public consultations have begun around modernizing provincial environmental assessment.

EA represents an important intersection between government and industry. NEIA is well positioned to assist in bridging that divide in these consultations. NEIA’s membership is comprised of environmental professionals who work in jurisdictions across Canada, throughout the world, and within every industry. Our members see, on a daily basis, regulatory approaches which not only have proven to be effective in terms of both environmental protection and time management – but also in that they can facilitate growth and economic development.

Knowing that this consultation was around the corner, NEIA has been leveraging this expertise and experience to prepare.

Throughout 2017-2018, NEIA consulted with its members and industry partners on priorities in the reform of EA. We held expert roundtables, broad engagement sessions at our annual conference, and one-on-one discussions with individual practitioners. This culminated in a series of detailed recommendations that were published and delivered to the Department of Municipal Affairs and Environment this past Fall.

We feel that there are opportunities to refine EA in Newfoundland and Labrador to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the processes – while maintaining or improving environmental outcomes. The predominant theme that emerged throughout our internal engagement, which is reflected in our published recommendations, is a need to achieve greater certainty – certainty through more consistency and more clarity in the design and application of processes.

The pursuit of certainty in EA is in the interest of reducing ‘risk’. When processes are not clearly defined or standardized, both the public and private sectors carry risk: legal risk, financial risk, environmental risk, and political risk. And so it is in everyone’s interest to have a system that achieves desired outcomes through a process that is clear and consistent in its application.

A more predictable and reliable process will allow us all to plan better, no matter what our positions may be, confident that things will unfold as they designed to.

Today, I would like to thank Minister Letto and his team for kickstarting public consultations on environmental assessment.

It is going to take input from all stakeholders to arrive at an improved process, and we encourage all with an interest to participate. Industry is ready to engage, and I would like to thank our members who volunteered their time and expertise to prepare us collectively for these consultations.

This is an opportunity to collaborate to create a process that has the best possible outcomes for the environment, the economy, and the taxpayer. Let’s take advantage. Let’s get to work.

Thank you.