Open science and data to support regulatory efficiency of major projects
We know that open research practices facilitate collaboration and advance analytical capacity. Add open data to the mix, and you have a powerful means to serve many purposes, like tackling innovation challenges, mobilizing knowledge, or engaging stakeholder and community groups on critical public safety, security or health challenges. For the public sector, all open government actions demonstrate a commitment to accountability, transparency, and evidence-based decision-making for local and regional sustainable development. The Government of Canada’s work on regulatory and permitting efficiency for clean growth projects is a perfect example of these principles in action.
A foundation for effective regulation
In July 2024, a new Action Plan to increase regulatory efficiency and get clean projects built faster was released by the Government of Canada. The Action Plan and the associated Cabinet Directive, sets timeline targets for completion of impact assessments and federal permitting processes. With respect to efficient issuance of regulatory licenses and permits by federal departments and agencies, the framework puts forth guiding principles around important factors like interjurisdictional cooperation, meaningful consultation and partnerships, including with Indigenous groups, and improved predictability for federal requirements and processes considering construction timeline implications.
For construction of major development projects to advance quickly, it is crucial to ensure proponents, Indigenous groups, stakeholders and governments have the information they need as early in the process as possible, to support decision-making. This is where having a comprehensive and reliable source of science and data to analyze is important.
For example, the proposed High Frequency Rail project between Toronto and Québec City is proposed to pass through multiple provincial jurisdictions, Indigenous territories, protected areas, waterways, and conservation zones. To enhance understanding of the regulatory environment surrounding the complex project and maximize efficiency, key information—such as the location of service infrastructure, communities, and critical habitats or species at risk—should be available early in the project's development. There’s an inherent need for open information, research and data to support decision-making. The Government of Canada’s Open Science and Data Platform (OSDP) ‘paints a comprehensive picture’ of what is known today of important factors that would need to be considered in impact assessment and permitting processes, allowing regulatory permitting and subsequent monitoring activities to be done more quickly and reliably.
Understanding needs, then filling science and technology gaps
The OSDP is a key part of ongoing, collaborative work between federal department and agencies, together referred to as the Implementation of the Impact Assessment Act. Launched by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) and Environment and Climate Change Canada in 2021, it is an online tool that brings together data, science and regulatory information dispersed across multiple federal, provincial and territorial government systems, making it more accessible through an interactive geospatial interface. By providing all relevant data and information for federal impact assessment and regulatory processes through a single window, the OSDP ensures transparency, enables public engagement, and increases trust in decision making. From impact assessment practitioners to project proponents, Indigenous Peoples, researchers, academics and environmental non-government organizations, a diversity of users are tapping into it. What’s more, through the OSDP’s map viewer, layers highlighting various datasets can be overlaid and clearly represented, as we can see in the example below.
Data layers from the Open Science and Data Platform combined to offer an integrated view
Diverse data to inform pre-planning through to decision making: Proposed High Frequency Rail Project
Did you know? The OSDP provides access to a growing catalogue of regulatory and project information and currently links to six registries, including the Canadian Impact Assessment Registry, Transport Canada’s Navigation Protection Program Registry, Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s Fisheries Act Registry, the Canada Energy Regulator’s Pipeline information BERDI system, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission’s technical assessments for their Environmental Protection Reviews, and the Government of British Columbia’s Major Projects Inventory. You can access those by using the Contributor System filter on the Search page.
A growing source of authoritative open knowledge
Through successive releases, the OSDP’s catalogue continues to grow, not only with new science, data and regulatory information, but also through curated collections focused on regions of interest and topics related to the human and natural environment, such as biodiversity, air, water and climate, among other valued components. As its collections grow, with records continuously added from departments and agencies at the federal, provincial and territorial levels, it’s utility to support the federal impact assessments process is apparent and could be further leveraged to support regulatory and permitting phases.
As Canada continues to enhance regulatory efficiency in support of sustainable development and a net-zero future, there may be more variables to consider. NRCan’s Chief Scientist, Dr Ranjana Sharma, sums up the challenge succinctly. “The continued success of impact assessment and regulatory processes rests on the integrity of established tools, like the OSDP, as well as engagement efforts directed at all those concerned or impacted by proposed projects. That’s how we can ensure public participation in impact assessment processes, and confidence in decisions.”