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In November 2010, the Canadian Council of Fisheries and Aquaculture Ministers launched a five-year National Aquaculture Strategic Action Plan Initiative, with a view to enhancing and advancing economically, environmentally and socially sustainable aquaculture development throughout the country. Under the collaborative initiative, specific actions have been identified in three key areas: governance; social license and reporting; and, productivity and competitiveness.

Federal and provincial governments work collaboratively on energy policy through the Energy and Mines Ministers process. In 2011 at the annual Energy and Mines Ministers' Conference, energy ministers provided guidance to ongoing collaboration among federal, provincial and territorial governments on shared priorities. Specifically, collaborative Canadian efforts on energy have focussed on the areas of energy efficiency, responsible oil and gas development, electricity reliability, and technology innovation. In addition, in August 2014, Canada's Premiers announced their shared vision and principles for a Canadian Energy Strategy which would update the previous 2007 strategy. When finalized , the Strategy is expected to promote intergovernmental collaboration and transparency, address climate change and social and environmental responsibility, and ensure energy security and stability.

The National Energy Board (NEB) is the government's independent federal regulatory body for the energy sector, in particular for pipelines, energy development, and trade. (…) Recent implementation of amendments introduced through the Jobs, Growth, and Long-term Prosperity Act of 2012, make the regulatory reviews for projects more predictable and timely, reduce the regulatory burden and duplication, and strengthen environmental protection. (...) In 2011, the NEB created an Action Plan on Safety and Environmental Protection to make improvements to worker safety, integrity of installations, damage prevention, and emergency preparedness and response. In June 2013, the Action Plan was fully implemented. (...)

(…) Finally, on 8 December 2013, the Government introduced the Pipeline Safety Act, to further strengthen Canada's pipeline safety regime by building on the principles of incident prevention, preparedness and response, and liability and compensation. The Pipeline Safety Act will enshrine the "polluter pays" principle, require companies operating major crude oil pipelines to have a minimum of Can$1 billion in financial capacity to respond to leaks, spills and ruptures, and ensure that companies remain responsible for their abandoned pipelines. As of February 2015, this Act had not entered into force but remained a key priority.

(...) In 2012, the Government introduced the plan for Responsible Resource Development, a systematic and comprehensive plan to help guide the development of Canada's abundant natural resources. The plan helps facilitate investment by modernising the regulatory system for project reviews. Implementation includes changes to a number of key statutes including a new Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012. The plan was guided by four objectives: (i) make project reviews more predictable and timely (e.g. by setting maximum beginning-to-end timelines for environmental assessments and introducing legally-binding timelines for key regulatory permitting processes); (ii) reducing duplication in the review process (e.g. substitution and equivalency provisions allow provincial environmental assessments that meet the federal requirements to replace federal assessments and limit the factors the National Energy Board can consider in export licence applications); (iii) strengthening environmental protection (e.g. focusing assessments on major projects that have a greater potential for significant adverse environmental effects and introducing administrative monetary penalties to promote compliance and substantial financial penalties for violations); and (iv) enhancing Aboriginal consultations (e.g. by better integrating Aboriginal consultations into the assessment and regulatory processes and establishing consultation protocols or agreements with Aboriginal groups for project reviews). Implementation of these changes is underway and will benefit major projects in the energy and mining sectors.

(…) in 2012, the Government introduced the plan for Responsible Resource Development which helps to facilitate investment by modernizing the regulatory system for project reviews. Implementation included changes to a number of key statutes including the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 (CEAA 2012), which gave the CNSC the exclusive responsibility for conducting environmental assessments for projects it regulates, such as uranium mines and mills, that are listed on the Regulations Designating Physical Activities.

In implementing the Responsible Resource Development Initiative, the amended Canadian Environmental Assessment Act of 2012 (CEAA 2012) enhanced Aboriginal consultations by better integrating Aboriginal consultations into the assessment and regulatory processes. The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency serves as the Crown consultation coordinator for many major resource projects. CEAA 2012 also gave the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) the exclusive responsibility for conducting environmental assessments for projects it regulates under the Nuclear Safety and Control Act, such as uranium mines and mills. The CNSC is the Crown consultation coordinator for projects it regulates.

The plan for Responsible Resource Development also supported better integration of Aboriginal consultations into the assessment and regulatory processes and allowing the CNSC to play a Crown Consultation Coordinator role for projects they regulate. In 2012, the CNSC amended its Uranium Mines and Mills Regulations under the Nuclear Safety and Control Act, to establish 24 month timelines, that are consistent with timelines established under CEAA 2012, for projects that require its environmental assessment and regulatory review and decision on new applications for a combined license to prepare a site and construct a uranium mine or mill. However, not every environmental assessment of a uranium mine in Canada is subject to CEAA 2012. For example, Areva's Kiggavik project falls under the jurisdiction of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, and is therefore subject to the Nunavut Impact Review Board's environmental assessment process rather than CEAA 2012. The CNSC provides technical advice to the Nunavut Impact Review Board and participates in its process. In 2013, the CNSC and Fisheries and Oceans Canada signed a Memorandum of Understanding to coordinate the administration of the fisheries protection provisions of the Fisheries Act and to assure a streamlined one window regulatory approach for projects regulated by the CNSC.

As part of the Responsible Resource Development Plan, the Government of Canada introduced legislation to ensure Canada's regulatory system remains competitive, efficient, and effective in the world. These changes included the implementation of the new Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 and amendments to the Fisheries Act, the Navigation Protection Act, and the Species at Risk Act. The regulatory improvements achieved to date include: environmental reviews focused on major projects; implementation of a project list based on areas of federal jurisdiction; enabling environmental assessment substitution and equivalency measures; establishment of an authority for joint regional studies; and legislated timelines for the environmental assessment regulatory permit processes.

(...) Most of Canada's oil and gas production occurs on provincial lands, i.e. where the exploitation of natural resources is under the jurisdiction of the provinces. The Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act applies in respect of the exploration and drilling for and the production, conservation, processing and transportation of oil and gas (...)