MontrealQuebec Environment Minister Bernard Drainville is set to announce a plan today to slash the timeline for environmental approvals by half, according to Radio-Canada sources. Critics fear it will come at a cost.Critics fear fast-tracking projects will come at the cost of environmental protectionBenjamin Shingler · CBC News · Posted: Dec 08, 2025 8:45 AM EST | Last Updated: 2 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 2 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Bernard Drainville, Quebec’s education minister. (Sylvain Roy Roussel/Radio-Canada)Quebec Environment Minister Bernard Drainville is set to announce a plan today to slash the timeline for environmental approvals by half, according to Radio-Canada sources.The changes would see the average approval time drop from 18 months to nine months.The Coalition Avenir Québec government hopes the move will fast-track major energy, mining, industrial and transportation projects. The goal is to improve administrative efficiency by cutting red tape and streamlining the process — potentially eliminating some steps entirely if the government deems them unnecessary.Drainville is scheduled to hold a news conference detailing the plan later this morning.The move comes after the federal government took a similar step, with Prime Minister Mark Carney passing legislation earlier this year designed to fast-track “nation-building” projects.Premier François Legault has previously said overhauling the Environment Ministry’s rules and timelines would be a priority for Drainville, who took over the cabinet post in a cabinet shuffle last September. Alice-Anne Simard, executive director of Nature Québec, said this morning she is concerned the move will come at a cost.“Once you remove regulations, you always find yourself less protecting the environment,” Simard told CBC Montreal’s Daybreak.“It would be great to have a project approved twice as fast … but what we see is that we are weakening our different legislation and regulations to protect the environment.” WATCH | Is Quebec’s Green Fund still green?:Quebec wants millions meant for climate action to be used for other government programsThe province recently introduced a bill that would give the government the power to use Quebec’s Green Fund surplus for whatever it sees fit. The fund is meant to help the government combat climate change and currently has a surplus of about $1.8 billion. ABOUT THE AUTHORBenjamin Shingler is a reporter based in Montreal covering social issues and Quebec politics. He previously worked at The Canadian Press and the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal, and is an alumnus of the Oxford Climate Journalism Network. He can be reached at benjamin.shingler@cbc.ca.With files from Radio-Canada’s Véronique Prince
Quebec looks to slash environmental approval times
