You're Invited: Building Canada Strong or Building Canada Wrong? Bill C-39 Explained | With Claire Seaborn | Oct 29 at 2pm ET
How would federal project permitting work under Bill C-39?
Sara and Ed sit down with environmental lawyer Claire Seaborn to discuss how the Government of Canada’s Bill C-39, the Building Canada Strong Act, tabled in September, would change how we navigate federal project permitting.
The stated goal is faster approvals. The bill proposes one-year federal review timelines and new “regions of national interest” where projects could be pre-approved. Questions remain: How much faster will reviews really go? Will corners be cut? What are the climate considerations? Can the duty to consult be met? Claire will make tricky legal concepts digestible for our resident non-lawyers, Sara and Ed.
Topics include:
- An overview of Bill C-39, focusing exclusively on Part 1, the major projects piece
- What would change and what would stay the same
- What it means for environmental protection and climate action
- How the duty to consult Indigenous Peoples is affected
Register today and join the live webinar on October 29, 2pm ET / 12pm MT / 11am PT.
About Claire Seaborn:
Claire Seaborn is a lawyer at Torys LLP in Toronto who helps clients advance infrastructure, energy and mining projects, resolve project-related disputes, and navigate permitting and compliance processes. Previously, Claire spent five years in senior roles at the Government of Canada, including most recently as Chief of Staff to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources. Claire’s sustainability-focused approach to advancing major projects has been recognized with awards from the Women’s Infrastructure Network, Forward Law Review, and Clean50 Awards. Claire studied political science at the University of British Columbia, studied law at the University of Ottawa, and is a licensed lawyer in Ontario, British Columbia and England & Wales.
About Your Energy vs Climate Co-Hosts:
David Keith is Professor and Founding Faculty Director, Climate Systems Engineering Initiative at the University of Chicago. He is the founder of Carbon Engineering and was formerly a professor at Harvard University and the University of Calgary. He splits his time between Canmore and Chicago.
Sara Hastings-Simon is an Energy Systems scientist studying energy transitions at the intersection of policy, business, and technology. She’s a policy wonk with a love of data. With a PhD in physics from the University of Geneva she has worked at both McKinsey & Company as a management consultant, and the Pembina Institute where she founded Business Renewable Centre Canada. Dr. Hasting-Simon is now a professor at the University of Calgary where she co-leads the Electricity Centre. She has a particular interest in the dynamics of the mid-transition, a concept she co-developed.
Ed Whittingham is a Canadian climate and energy leader with more than 25 years of experience across public policy, clean technology, corporate strategy, and the non-profit sector. He is the former Executive Director of the Pembina Institute and has worked with governments, companies, universities, and civil society organizations in Canada and internationally on complex climate and energy issues. Today, his work focuses on helping build and scale climate stabilizing solutions. He serves as Founding Director of the Advance Carbon Removal Coalition.
Produced by Amit Tandon & Bespoke Podcasts
Energy vs Climate: How climate is changing our energy systems
www.energyvsclimate.com
