In essence, this federal law requires the government to look before it leaps—to consider environmental impacts before approving major projects. The history is clear: the adverse effects of new mines, pipelines, and ports must be assessed before governments make decisions to approve or reject projects or require mitigation measures. Otherwise, the risks of environmental disasters are just too high: think of the environmental calamities at Canadian mines like Eagle, Mount Polley, and Giant, not to mention the catastrophes at international energy projects like Chernobyl, Fukushima, and Deep Sea Horizon.

Unfortunately, Prime Minister Carney (Bill C-5), Ontario Premier Ford (Bill 5), and BC Premier Eby (Bill 15) appear to agree with Smith that assessments of major development projects are no longer needed. All three laws were swiftly enacted in a few weeks without serious debate in the respective legislatures, engagement with Indigenous nations, or consultation with independent experts or civil society. All three provide first ministers and their cabinets with authority to override environmental assessment laws for vaguely-defined “national interest projects”, “provincially significant projects”, and projects in “special economic zones”.Nature Canada says that these new laws were pushed through too quickly without a longer term vision and seem contrary to Canada’s obligations to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, achieve net-zero carbon emissions and respect Indigenous rights and sovereignty.

Too many of our political leaders are apparently blinded to the facts by the actions of the government to the south: that people are dying from heat waves; that the boreal forest is burning; that atmospheric and other rivers are overflowing; and that sea levels are rising.

That is why Nature Canada, together with West Coast Environmental Law, is back in court. The Impact Assessment Act, as amended in 2024, is constitutional as well as a key tool for the federal government to save our corner of the planet.