Tories shouldn’t try to silence eco-dissent
The federal government badly needs to rethink its proposed retooling of Canada's environmental review process.
While there's nothing wrong with improving the efficiency of the reviews, which at the moment are notorious for being unnecessarily lengthy, expensive, disproportionate and at times redundant, the Tory initiatives go too far.
The plan to download nearly all eco-oversight to the provinces risks leading to a patchwork of decisions and a weakening of national standards for environmental protection.
And Environment Minister Joe Oliver's comments Wednesday that the Conservatives plan to block participation in the reviews by "environmental groups without specific expertise" or Canadian citizens who don't live near projects is undemocratic. The government should not ever limit who can participate in important policy debates, especially when it's done to, as in this case, silence political dissent. That is the beginnings of totalitarianism.
Take the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline: people in the Lower Mainland may not live near its route, but it affects the B.C. Coast, which most of us cherish. Everyone must have a reasonable right to express their views.