This is how extinction begins: not with a natural disaster, but with a six-page government memo. 

Tucked away at the end of a federal discussion paper released May 8 is a proposal so extreme it should stop every Canadian cold: The federal cabinet wants the power to approve projects even if they could wipe out an endangered species forever. 

The government is quietly proposing to hand itself so-called “God Squad” powers — the authority to decide which species live and which species die in the name of faster industrial development. It is green lighting extinction while calling it “efficiency.” 

The return of the Harper playbook 

The proposal feels like a political time machine back to the Harper-era attacks on environmental laws and public oversight — but even more extreme, and with higher stakes for nature and communities. 

Under the ideas of “efficiency” and attracting foreign investment, the federal government is proposing major changes to Canadian law: 

It wants to create “Federal Economic Zones” where industrial players pushing projects like pipelines, mines or large developments would face different, weaker environmental rules;

It is suggesting pre-approved pipelines, where approval may come before full environmental reviews are finished, to boost investor confidence; and,  

It would give cabinet the power to override environmental safeguards that Canadians spent decades........

© National Observer