The Canadian Press
Thu, June 13, 2024
The Canadian Press
OTTAWA — The governments of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador urged a Senate committee Thursday to quickly pass legislation that would help establish a wind industry off Canada’s East Coast.
Tory Rushton, Nova Scotia’s minister of natural resources, told the committee that the bill, which amends the Atlantic accords, is “pivotal” to help his province reduce its fossil fuel use.
The bill would enable the development of offshore wind farms and expand the mandates of both provinces' offshore petroleum boards to include renewable energy by amending agreements with Ottawa that have helped to regulate oil and gas projects in Atlantic Canada for decades.
Rushton said Nova Scotia would like to see the bill passed without further amendments so his government can introduce mirror legislation this fall and then issue its first call for project bids in 2025. The province plans on offering licences for five gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030.
“There’s not a lot of time, so again I urge our federal partners to move this bill,” Rushton told the committee.
Under questioning from the committee, Rushton said any delay of the legislative changes that would run deep into the fall would come at a cost for both provinces.
“If this is delayed past the fall so we can’t do our mirror legislation … we’re going to lose a whole year of investments from these projects that, quite frankly, will leave Canadian waters and go somewhere such as the North Sea,” the minister said.
Andrew Parsons, Newfoundland and Labrador’s energy minister, said the legislation would allow the province to build a new energy sector that will create jobs and reduce carbon emissions.
“We are in a global competition and some would say we are even in competition with our colleagues in Nova Scotia, but the reality is I do think there is a strong path forward for both provinces and it will have a national impact,” Parsons said.
However, groups including the union for inshore fishers and processing workers in Newfoundland and Labrador and the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs called for more time so they can study whether offshore renewable energy development harms the fishery or the environment.
Katie Power of the Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union, said her membership doesn’t support “the haste with which the Senate is expected to process this bill” and wants to see protections built in so fishers aren’t further restricted from the areas of ocean they harvest.
“We are very contained in where we can fish, so to have that economic area further reduced by another industry is, of course, terrifying for our members,” Power said.
Senator Mary Jane McCallum, a non-affiliated committee member from Manitoba, asked Rushton whether he was aware of objections raised by Nova Scotia’s Mi’kmaw chiefs who recently wrote to the committee asking for more time.
“Given the significance and magnitude of this bill and its far-reaching consequences for the assessment of offshore renewable energy projects, we (Mi’kmaw chiefs) have serious concerns of the prospect of it being unduly rushed through committee,” McCallum read aloud from the letter.
Rushton replied that he was unaware of the letter but added that if that was the chiefs' concern then “further conversations” were needed.
Senate committee chair Paul Massicotte later interjected that the letter was “a concern” and said a hearing with the chiefs will be scheduled in September before a clause-by-clause examination of the bill proceeds.
The Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs was unavailable for comment on Thursday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 13, 2024.
— By Keith Doucette in Halifax
CBC
Thu, June 13, 2024
Natural Resources and Renewables Minister Tory Rushton travelled to Ottawa to speak in favour of Bill C-49. Rushton said if there are concerns from the Assembly of Mi'kmaw Chiefs about the bill, further discussions will have to take place. (CBC - image credit)
Nova Scotia's plea to speed up passage of federal legislation impacting offshore wind projects suffered a blow Thursday when a Senate committee said it had received a letter from Mi'kmaw chiefs raising concerns about how quickly the bill is moving toward becoming law.
Tory Rushton, Nova Scotia's minister of natural resources and renewables, told the Senate's standing committee on energy, the environment and natural resources that Mi'kmaq are "partners" and "supporters" of the province's "transition to clean energy."
But Sen. Mary Jane McCallum of Manitoba informed Rushton during his testimony that the committee had received a letter from the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi'kmaw Chiefs outlining multiple concerns over Bill C-49, including that the required consultation process had not been followed.
"Mi'kmaw leadership were not aware of the bill, could not assess it, provide feedback or meaningfully participate in something that will significantly impact them and their territory," said the letter, which McCallum read during the meeting.
"Given the significance and magnitude of this bill and its far-reaching consequences for the assessment of offshore renewable energy projects, we have serious concerns at the prospect of it being unduly rushed through committee."
Bill C-49 amends separate offshore accords between Canada and Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador. It would allow joint provincial-federal offshore petroleum boards to oversee development of offshore wind projects.
Minister blindsided by concerns
Rushton, who travelled to Ottawa with a small delegation that included representatives from the Mi'kmaw communities of Membertou and Potlotek, said it was the first he'd heard of any problems with the bill.
"I've had conversations with chiefs as of late this week, but that was never raised to myself," Rushton told the committee. "That's the first I'm hearing of that letter, to be very honest."
He said further conversations would "absolutely" need to be held to address any concerns from Mi'kmaw chiefs in Nova Scotia.
The Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi'kmaw Chiefs confirmed Thursday it wrote the committee and outlined concerns, but no one was available to discuss the contents of the letter. The organization declined to share the letter with CBC News.
The chair of the Senate committee, Paul Massicotte, told members they would hear from the chiefs in early September before proceeding with examination of the bill.
"They're going to get a full hearing because we're going to have a meeting just for that purpose," said Massicotte.
Delay could come at a cost, warns Rushton
Rushton later told CBC News although he was surprised to hear concerns from the chiefs, he didn't see that as a blow to his efforts to speed up passage of Bill C-49.
"This is new information that's been put in front of me and I think my history has proven [that] whenever an issue's put at hand, I'll deal with it," he said from the airport in Ottawa.
The Houston government had been hoping to introduce mirror legislation in early fall.
Rushton said that would have to wait until the federal bill is passed, but he cautioned any delay could jeopardize "huge investment this fiscal year from many investors that are looking for a regulatory regime put into place."
"It's very important for this legislation to pass as soon as possible," Rushton said.
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