The decision on whether to demand a longer federal environmental assessment of Northern Pulp’s proposed effluent treatment plant has once again been punted down the calendar.
On Tuesday, newly minted federal environment minister Jonathan Wilkinson announced he wouldn’t decide on whether to take the decision out of his provincial counterpart’s hands until December 20, three days after the deadline for provincial environment minister to rule on the controversial project.
“In the spirit of informed decision-making and of ensuring certainty on timelines for proponents, I am thoroughly reviewing a series of designation requests from the Impact Assessment Agency, and will arrive at a definitive decision on all of them by December 20, 2019,” reads a written statement from Wilkinson.
“Any decisions that are made will align with our government’s commitment to protecting the environment and creating good jobs; Canadians expect nothing less.”
The environmentalists, fishermen and the Pictou Landing First Nation, along with the two highest courts in the province, have accused the province of being in a conflict of interest. They allege that as both a funder of the proposed effluent treatment facility and an environmental regulator, its decision on whether to allow it would be suspect.
Earlier this week, submissions from four federal departments were leaked to several media outlets. They all raised concerns with the environmental assessment documents filed by Northern Pulp.
This would be the third time the federal government has delayed ruling on whether to demand a federal assessment – which would add at least a year to the project’s timeline.
That's time that Northern Pulp doesn't have, as the Jan. 31, 2020, legislated closure date for its existing effluent treatment plant at Boat Harbour looms.
A Chronicle Herald freedom of information request showed that former federal minister Catherine McKenna received a recommendation from the Canadian Impact Assessment Agency in March but didn’t act upon it.
The copy of the recommendation to the minister received by The Chronicle Herald was heavily redacted.
Instead, she said she would wait until changes to the Environmental Assessment Act came into force in August.
In September, she requested a new recommendation from her department, pushing the decision date to Nov. 26 – well past October’s federal election.
Then on Wednesday, Wilkinson said a new decision on that new recommendation – which also hasn’t been released – won’t come until Dec. 20.
“If it’s a science-based decision then I’m happy but if he’s pushing it down the road for politics then we’re not happy,” said Allan McCarthy, a Caribou fisherman who has been campaigning against the proposed effluent treatment facility.
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