The North Grenville Municipal Council is requesting immediate action from the Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
This week councillors heard a presentation outlining the Municipal Class Environmental Assessment and why the provincial government should consider making changes. According to the presentation the public meetings and impact studies required will often take two years and MCEA requirements often do not line up with municipal land use decisions.
Research by the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario shows it now takes almost 27 months and over $385,000 on average to complete an environmental assessment, which is up from 19 months and less than $115,000.
It was pointed out during the presentation that the Auditor General has tabled recommendations to update the process but despite a written commitment between 2013 and 2015 nothing has been changed. It was noted that projects that do not meet the requirements could be disqualified from funding in the future.