ID: 1671
Presenting Author: Michael Taylor
Session: 586 - Policy and regulation changes: building public trust in EIA systems
Status: pending
Canada’s new infrastructure laws aim to speed up approvals but risk transparency and Indigenous rights. AI tools may help balance efficiency with environmental oversight, though challenges remain.
Recent legislative reforms in Canada—BC’s Bills 14 and 15 and federal Bill C-5—signal a shift toward accelerating major infrastructure and energy projects in the name of economic resilience and competitiveness. While aiming to streamline permitting and reduce regulatory delays, these changes raise significant concerns for environmental impact assessment (EIA) frameworks and public trust. Exemptions for certain renewable projects and broad discretion to fast-track “provincially significant” or “national interest” initiatives risk reducing transparency, weakening safeguards, and triggering constitutional challenges, particularly regarding Indigenous rights. AI-driven tools like WSP’s NatureVista offer potential to enhance EIA through rapid geospatial screening, biodiversity risk analysis, and scenario modeling. These capabilities may help balance speed with environmental oversight. However, AI integration introduces new risks: algorithmic opacity, data bias, energy intensity, and over-reliance on automated outputs in complex socio-ecological contexts. This paper critically examines the implications of these legislative shifts, evaluates AI’s potential to mitigate emerging risks, and explores how emotionally intelligent, participatory science communication can support environmental justice, precaution, and democratic engagement in a rapidly evolving policy landscape
Michael Taylor a Director of Ecology and EIA for WSP, providing strategic regulatory coordination, and leading environmental and social impact assessments (ESIAs) for a diverse range of clients.