September 9, 2026, Ottawa, ON - Canada is building big, building fast, and building responsibly to create a stronger, more resilient and sovereign Canadian economy. As part of this effort, the Government of Canada is modernizing Canada's regulatory and permitting framework to make the process faster and more predictable.
Today, the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, President of the King's Privy Council for Canada and Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade, Intergovernmental Affairs, Internal Trade and One Canadian Economy, the Honourable Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, and the Honourable Julie Dabrusin, Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Nature, announced amendments to the Physical Activities Regulations (the Project List) under the Impact Assessment Act (IAA).
The amendments will streamline the review process for certain projects, including pipelines, new international power lines and designated interprovincial power lines, and certain offshore renewable energy projects, while maintaining robust environmental protections and upholding the rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Interprovincial and international pipelines, international and designated interprovincial power lines and offshore renewable energy projects not regulated by the offshore energy regulators will now be reviewed through a rigorous and comprehensive assessment process managedby the Canada Energy Regulator (CER), Canada's expert lifecycle regulator, rather than through an integrated review panel assessment.
In situ oil sands extraction facilities and fossil fuel-fired power generating facilities are being removed from the Project List to ensure federal impact assessments remain wholly focused on major projects with the greatest potential to cause adverse effects within federal jurisdiction, in alignment with amendments to the IAA made in response to Reference re Impact Assessment Act.
These projects and facilities will continue to be subject to equally robust applicable provincial and federal assessment processes, including environmental assessment and ensuring the Crown's constitutional duty to consult and accommodate Indigenous Peoples is met as guided by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the UN Declaration Act.
The CER has expertise conducting impact assessments that review a project's effects on a range of environmental factors, including air, water, soil, climate change, wildlife, species at risk, and Canada's environmental obligations. The CER also evaluates socio-economic considerations of projects such as impacts on employment, health, Indigenous rights, cultural well-being, and resource use, taking an integrated approach that recognizes the close links between environmental and socio-economic effects.
The amendments will create a more efficient, predictable and transparent regulatory framework for major natural resource and infrastructure projects to help attract and catalyze investment and ensure Canada remains competitive and agile in an increasingly uncertain global landscape. These changes are part of the Government of Canada's broader plan to accelerate nation-building projects and position Canada as a stronger, more sovereign, and more prosperous nation.
Following a nationwide engagement process from May 8 to July 22, 2026, the Government has heard from Indigenous Peoples, provinces and territories, stakeholders and Canadians. This feedback is helping to shape the development and implementation of regulatory, policy and legislative changes, including to the Physical Activities Regulations. What We Heard Reports have been published today, and the Government intends to introduce legislation this fall.
