Whereas the provincial and federal environmental assessment processes are not the direct jurisdiction of local governments and therefore not subject to associated service cost recovery fees and cost of public engagement; And whereas these environmental assessment processes can be very time consuming, expensive and onerous for local government staff, community and council: Therefore be it resolved that the provincial government set up a funding system to allow for local governments to be compensated for the staff time spent including research, review, technical and working group participation, and to augment and support community engagement during the entire process; And be it further resolved that the provincial governments Environmental Assessment Office fee schedule be revised to include a fee for local governments throughout the certification process.
Ministry of Environment Climate Change Strategy The Environmental Assessment Office does not currently have budget available to provide capacity funding for local governments participating in the Environmental Assessment EA process. We acknowledge the time and expense that local governments invest in the EA process, and recognize that funding from the provincial government would be helpful. The Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy has a mandate to revitalize the EA process. We are working to identify the scope and process for EA revitalization and have noted this issue for consideration. Major policy or legislation initiatives typically also include opportunities for stakeholder engagement, so there will likely be opportunities for municipalities to provide input from their experience with the EA process. We encourage you to bring forward this concern during those stakeholder engagement opportunities.