How to Build Fair While Moving Fast
A decade-old New Brunswick model offers a way to align development with Indigenous, environmental, and economic priorities
For a country facing massive economic uncertainty, we Canadians are traipsing over familiar ground.
The federal government’s One Canadian Economy Act, which passed into law at record speed at the end of June, permits the federal cabinet to fast-track projects of national interest through exemptions from some federal legislation.
Indigenous governments and environmental organizations suspect this means the legal requirements that protect Indigenous rights and local land, water and air concerns are in jeopardy.
They aren’t wrong to be suspicious.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the development divide, the provinces of Alberta and Ontario have asked the federal government to repeal several existing environmental and climate policies, which they claim stymie development and investment attraction.
They aren’t wrong to want to speed up the approvals process.
While it may appear that these groups stand on opposite sides of the development debate, my work on the New Brunswick Commission on Hydraulic Fracturing a decade ago taught me that economic, Indigenous and environmental interests have one significant shared interest.
They all want the regulatory process to be more accountable, efficient and transparent.
It is the responsibility of provincial and federal governments to meet those expectations.
In February 2016, the three New Brunswick Commissioners, Cheryl Robertson, John D. McLaughlin and Marc Léger proposed the province create a single, independent regulator. What follows is the third excerpt from their report, which offers a model for current policy makers working to bridge divides over resource development.
The report was the first and possibly only North American report on hydraulic fracturing to receive the public acceptance of environmental, Indigenous and industry groups.
Side Walks is fully funded by readers and organizations that support our mission to produce local journalism. If you’re enjoying this story, please consider becoming a paid subscriber, $8/month or $80/year. You can also sign up for a free subscription. All subscriptions deliver Side Walks directly to your email inbox, and you can also read along on the Substack app.
Think of us as your friendly neighbourhood buskers setting fire to complacency while juggling a mix of coverage, commentary and culture – and this is the point in the show where we pass the hat. We appreciate your support!
Now back to the story…
An Excerpt From The Commission on Hydraulic Fracturing – Volume 1: The Findings
Finding #5: An independent regulator should be created with a mandate to strengthen New Brunswick’s monitoring and evaluation of shale gas development in terms of understanding cumulative effects, including impact on human health and the environment.
This new regulator should have the independence to act in the public interest and to provide open and transparent access to scientific data and information regarding the state of human health and the environment.
Key to this is the legal authority to examine, approve, investigate and suspend operations. If the Government chooses to proceed with resource development, the Commission envisions a regulator that grows incrementally, adding services and capacity between now and the potential start of commercial development.
The transition to a single regulator is informed by the following four factors the Commission heard repeatedly during the course of our work.
New Brunswick residents and shale gas producers require a robust regulatory regime. The Government of New Brunswick’s existing multi-department system was designed to grow alongside the shale gas industry. The logic as we understand it is to not spend money creating an oil and gas regulator before we know if New Brunswick will actually have an oil and gas sector to regulate. While this makes financial sense, it fails to meet the standard of effective regulatory policy, which is to provide robust and trusted enforcement of government regulations.
It is difficult for Government departments to both promote and effectively regulate an industry. The simple answer is to separate the two functions. Because resource development projects provide revenue to the Government of New Brunswick via royalties, Crown land leases and taxes, it makes sense to keep the promotional aspects of resource development within line departments and transfer regulatory responsibilities to an independent regulator.
A robust cumulative impacts assessment process could address community concerns. Many of the risks and benefits associated with shale gas development are present in other resource development projects. Creating a single regulator will enable better measuring and monitoring of cumulative impacts of human activities on New Brunswick communities.
A core cross-disciplinary team of regulatory experts could help disseminate information and build knowledge capacity. This team would include people with expertise in: Indigenous legal precedents and cultural practices; human and environmental health; engineering technologies; community consultations; and capital markets. Together they would be able to assess and monitor projects, convene community consultations, direct independent research priorities, advise government on policy direction, and provide the public with ongoing information about the future of sustainable development in New Brunswick.
An important first step will be the design of a risk management model that is able to mitigate the impact of known risks while developing a system to identify uncertainties if development proceeds. At the time of writing in February 2016, the Department of Environment and Local Government was in the midst of determining how best to integrate an assessment of cumulative impacts into its current Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process. At the same time, the Department of Health was advocating for the adoption of the Health Impact Assessment (HIA) process, as recommended by the Chief Medical Officer of Health’s 2012 recommendations for shale gas development. It strikes us that a single, integrated assessment of both human health and environmental impacts is the logical next step.
The bottom line is New Brunswickers need to understand if the risks and benefits associated with hydraulic fracturing can be managed within acceptable levels. To determine that, residents, local governments, Indigenous people and businesses need a trusted, independent voice to convene that conversation.
Below are the key values upon which the regulator should be founded.
Independent: The regulator will be free of political and bureaucratic interference or influence.
Open and transparent: The regulator will provide everyone with access to timely scientific technical and financial information, which will build trust and enable it to bring all parties together for community-centred consultations about the possible risks and benefits of a project.
User-friendly: The regulator will enable faster approvals and enforcement of regulations.
Evidence-based: The regulator will establish proper baseline monitoring of human and environmental health impacts, conducted by trusted and objective sources.
Citizen oversight: A mechanism for citizen oversight must be developed.
Community-centred: The regulator will convene ongoing community consultations in order to gauge and assess community acceptance of new and existing activities.
If you enjoyed this column, please share the love with others who you think would enjoy the conversation we’re having on Side Walks. We’re a Canadian media start-up building a community of fellow Canucks (and the people who love us) interested in finding common ground around complex issues by focusing on local repercussions and opportunities caused by national and global issues. We’re based in New Brunswick, on Canada’s East Coast. Cheers
Stroll Over to Side Walks For More Stories
Community Wealth and Health Should Be the Focus for Regulatory Approval of New Development Projects: That's the answer when local residents ask why they should take on environmental risk and community disruptions caused by increased traffic and other annoyances when industry comes to town
A Better Approach to Resource Development: Almost a decade ago, the New Brunswick Commission on Hydraulic Fracturing made history by becoming the first in North America to successfully bridge divides; their work offers a model to follow today
New Brunswick Leads the Way on Groundwater Protection: As communities raise alarms over local threats, the province has a chance to double down on its leadership in water protection — and turn public concern into a model of environmental sovereignty.
New TV series Revival comes alive in New Brunswick's deep, dark woods: The rural noir supernatural mystery pays homage to its graphic novel roots with a mix of humour, heart and horror that plays out on the back roads of Kings County.
Side Walks Home Page
Catch up on all our stories.