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How do we care for the land?
An Examination of Results Based Regulations.
By Tory McGregor
The Ministry of the Environment will soon undergo the largest change in its history. Starting this fall, we anticipate the Sask Party will introduce a host of changes to how Government handles Environmental Protection and Assessment. Termed "Results Based Regulation", the new regulatory model is designed to put the "how" into the hands of the private sector. In other words, it is designed to turnover the responsibility for environmental protection to business and industry. This concept is based on the belief that private enterprise has a greater capacity to innovate new solutions for environmental protection.
There is currently little satisfaction with how we, as a society, care for the land. The provincial government has not done an adequate job of protecting the land, and regulatory processes for environmental protection do require an overhaul to reflect the current level of ecological knowledge. But is results based regulation the way we want to go? We as a people must decide how we want to proceed as stewards of the land.
An engineering firm, Clifton Associates Ltd., was the primary consultant in a report commissioned by the Ministry of the Environment that outlines 40 recommendations to retrofit our regulatory processes. No public consultations occurred.
The potential for enormous resource development is very real and likely for Saskatchewan. It is difficult to underestimate the impact this will have on our ecosystems. During the fall, there is a requirement for greater public awareness and engagement in consideration of this results based regulation.
For more information on the Results Based Regulations, visit the Government website at www.environment.gov.sk.ca/Regulations .
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Tory McGregor,
Deputy-Leader of the Green Party of Saskatchewan
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