Two measures to accelerate major projects announced

Last week, the Government of Québec took two major steps that signal its intention to speed up the development of major economic projects: the tabling of Bill 5 and the announcement of a regulation aimed at reducing environmental assessment timelines for certain industrial projects.

Bill 5, aptly titled An Act to accelerate the granting of authorizations required for the carrying out of priority and nationally significant projects, provides the government with new tools to streamline and coordinate the authorizations required for projects deemed strategic.

The stated objective is to reduce administrative complexity, avoid duplication between departments, and shorten timelines that can currently stretch over several years. The government maintains that these changes will not call existing legal requirements into question, but rather make processes more efficient and predictable.

At the same time, the Minister of the Environment introduced a regulation intended to significantly cut the length of provincial environmental assessments, particularly for projects in the industrial, mining, energy, and transportation sectors. Timelines could be reduced from approximately 13 to 18 months down to about nine months, notably through better organization of the analysis stages and earlier consultation with stakeholders, including Indigenous communities.

These initiatives are part of a broader trend emerging across Canada, where governments, both in Ottawa and in the provinces, are seeking greater flexibility to accelerate major projects that are considered essential to economic development and growth. The primary argument is that lengthy and complex authorization processes act as a deterrent to investment, particularly in strategic sectors such as energy and natural resources.

The political context of this week’s announcements must also be considered. With less than a year to go before the provincial election, these changes may be interpreted as a way to set the stage for announcements of significant projects—particularly in the energy sector—where approvals are often lengthy and contentious. The ability to announce projects at an advanced stage could become a key element of the government’s economic narrative and ultimately its pre-election playbook.

These measures should be viewed in light of the fiscal challenges facing the Legault government. With increasing pressure on public finances, a focus on new industrial and energy projects represents potential sources of revenue through investment, job creation, royalties, and taxation. Simply put, accelerating projects means seeking new sources of revenue in the medium term.