OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 06/29/12 -- The Honourable Joe Oliver, Minister of Natural Resources, today welcomed Royal Assent of the Jobs, Growth and Long-Term Prosperity Act, which includes key elements of the Responsible Resource Development plan.

"This legislation represents a critical milestone that will help Canada develop its tremendous natural resources to the benefit of Canadians from coast to coast to coast," said Minister Oliver. "Our plan for Responsible Resource Development will ensure timely, efficient and effective project reviews, while strengthening our world-class environmental standards."

Over the next 10 years, more than 500 new projects representing over $500 billion are expected to come on line across the country in the energy and mining sectors alone. These projects will create hundreds of thousands of high-quality jobs and drive economic growth across Canada.

Responsible Resource Development will improve Canada's regulatory system in four ways: making project reviews more predictable and timely; reducing duplication of project reviews; strengthening environmental protection; and enhancing consultations with Aboriginal peoples.

"The Responsible Resource Development provisions contained in the Jobs, Growth and Long-Term Prosperity Act will allow Canada to achieve the goal of one project, one review, in a clearly defined time period," said the Minister. "By promoting business confidence and capital investment, we will better tap into the incredible appetite for resources in the world's dynamic emerging economies - resources we have in abundance."

The plan will strengthen environmental safeguards, including tanker and pipeline safety, and, for the first time, will provide enforcement of environmental assessment conditions under the new Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012. It will also strengthen pipeline inspections and introduce tough new financial penalties for violations of National Energy Board conditions on pipeline projects. In addition, the plan puts in place maximum beginning-to-end timelines for reviews and will help eliminate the unnecessary and costly duplication of federal and provincial assessments.

"Responsible Resource Development achieves the balance we need now to unleash the potential of our resource sector to create good jobs across Canada while also ensuring strong environmental protection," said Minister Oliver.

For more information on Responsible Resource Development, visit ActionPlan.gc.ca.

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