STREAMLINING PERMITTING FOR LARGE NATURAL RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS (2025)

Issue

The Province of BC has announced measures to streamline permitting of certain major projects deemed urgent[1]. The regulatory process for major projects in British Columbia uses a comprehensive approach as related to environmental and safety standards yet lacks a strategy that adequately incorporates the economic aspect of sustainability. The process lacks fulsome consideration of the economic benefits of these projects, including their contributions to economic reconciliation with First Nations, GDP, job creation (particularly but not limited to rural regions of the Province), and government revenues. As a result, unnecessary delays in permitting large-scale industrial and infrastructure projects impact economic growth, investor confidence, and the province’s ability to maintain a balanced budget.

Background

British Columbia’s economy relies significantly on industries such as mining, forestry, natural gas, and major infrastructure projects. These sectors provide high-paying jobs, generate government revenues, and are essential to funding critical public services such as healthcare, housing, education, and transportation.

The natural resource sector alone:

• Contributes more than $45 billion to BC’s economy, accounting for 11% of the province’s GDP.
• Accounted for $40.3 billion in exports in 2023, making up 70% of BC’s total exported goods.
• Directly supports more than 137,000 high-paying jobs, representing 5% of BC’s total employment.[2]

Despite these contributions, large projects often face long, unpredictable permitting processes that do not adequately weigh the broader prospective economic impacts, including their role in stabilizing government finances. These delays also hamper the significant progress made by the provincial government and major industry players to partner with First Nations through innovative ownership, employment and revenue-sharing agreements associated with these projects.

A more efficient regulatory framework—one that facilitates timely approvals while maintaining rigorous environmental and social standards—is essential to supporting BC’s economic resilience and sustaining public revenues. Furthermore, it would support Premier Eby’s efforts to fast-track 18 resource projects to reduce the level of reliance on the United States as a trading partner.[3]Streamlining permitting by transitioning select projects to the BC Energy Regulator, an agency that has delegated authority to oversee certain regulatory responsibilities on behalf of other agencies, is one step the Province has announced.[4] A considerable step towards streamlining permitting for all major projects would be realized through a structured, transparent economic impact assessment at the regional and strategic level. This would allow an inclusive and proactive process to facilitate that major projects contributing to BC’s economic and fiscal stability are not unduly delayed in the project-specific approval process. This would enhance business confidence, attract investment, and improve the province’s ability to maintain a balanced budget.

• The potential economic benefits and adverse effects of a project.
• The effects on local communities, employment, and business opportunities.
• The project’s contribution to regional and provincial economic development.[5]

Despite these provisions, the economic assessment within the BCEAA process has several limitations, including:

• An inadequate weighing of economic benefits with environmental and social concerns
• An incomplete evaluation of the cumulative economic impact of multiple projects across a region or industry
• Lengthy permitting timelines and regulatory uncertainty, which discourage final investment decisions, leading to lost economic opportunities; and
• Limited consideration of how projects will contribute to First Nations and provincial government revenues (e.g., corporate taxes, royalties, and employment taxes) and how these funds support public services and a balanced budget.

While the BCEAA does require economic assessments, it does not allow for economic impacts to be systematically weighed in permitting and regulatory decisions. Strengthening the role of economic impact assessments would help streamline approvals, attract investment, and enhance BC’s long-term stability.

THE CHAMBER RECOMMENDS

That the Provincial Government:

1. Mandate that all major land-based and natural resource-related projects include an economic impact assessment to evaluate the expected contributions to GDP, job creation, economic reconciliation with First Nations and government revenues.
2. Integrate economic impact considerations in decision-making for major projects to balance environmental stewardship and social inclusion with economic growth.
3. Commit to transparent and predictable regulatory timelines to provide certainty for businesses and investors while maintaining rigorous environmental and social standards.