The Canadian government has tabled Bill C-39, known as the Building Canada Strong Act, overhauling federal permitting procedures for major energy projects. At the heart of the reform is a significant shift for the nuclear sector: the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) becomes the lead authority for environmental impact assessments covering all projects involving activities regulated under the Nuclear Safety and Control Act, including those related to uranium.
Until now, these assessments were carried out by the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, a generalist body. Under Bill C-39, the CNSC takes charge of the entire process: coordinating assessments, managing federal authorizations, and enforcing deadlines. The underlying logic is one of specialization. During consultations on the bill, the industry flagged to the government that the level of technical expertise on energy projects available at the Canada Energy Regulator simply could not be matched by the Impact Assessment Agency. The same principle now applies to nuclear: those who know the sector should be the ones assessing it.
The change is not just about who signs off on permits, but how long it takes to get them. The bill amends the Impact Assessment Act to introduce a federal review deadline of twelve months. The clock starts once the proponent has submitted a complete application, including all required studies and information. Within that year, the federal government must complete the assessment, conduct consultations with Indigenous peoples, evaluate impacts and mitigation measures, and issue a final decision. This is a firm deadline, not an advisory one.
The legislation reaches beyond nuclear energy. The Canada Energy Regulator takes on responsibility for reviewing international and interprovincial pipelines, transmission lines, and offshore renewable energy projects. This creates a system in which each sectoral regulator handles the projects within its domain, relieving the central Agency of roles for which it lacks equivalent technical expertise. The government will also be able to bundle multiple federal authorizations — environmental, fisheries, navigational — and issue them concurrently, cutting through layers of red tape. Cabinet will additionally have the power to issue policy directions to the CNSC.
Minister Dominic LeBlanc defended the reform by emphasizing that environmental assessments and obligations toward Indigenous rights holders remain fully intact. The stated goal is to do the same work more efficiently. For Canada’s nuclear sector — which is eyeing the development of small modular reactors and new generating capacity with growing interest — having a single, specialized regulatory point of contact is a long-awaited development. Less procedural fragmentation means clearer development pathways for investors and companies planning new facilities. If Bill C-39 becomes law, Canada will have one of the most streamlined nuclear approval processes in the Western world.
