NPMO Background

CANNOR'S NORTHERN PROJECTS MANAGEMENT OFFICE (NPMO)

Establishment of NPMO

The Government of Canada established the Northern Projects Management Office (NPMO) in September 2009 as a core program within the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor), with its mandate to support social and economic development in Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

The creation of NPMO emerged from recommendations in Neil McCrank's Road to Improvement report released on July 17, 2008, and demonstrates the Government of Canada's commitment to regulatory improvement in the North.

Northern Regulatory Environment

Natural resource development project proposals in Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut are subject to review and assessment before they can be approved. Regulatory regimes in the North must take into account applicable environmental assessment and review processes that go along with specific settled Aboriginal land claims and, where applicable, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.

These regulatory systems also include processes established to address territorial legislation, federal regulatory laws such as the Fisheries Act and Navigable Waters Protection Act, and legal requirements for review and consultation related to both asserted and settled land claims.

Role and Work

The Northern Projects Management Office's role within CanNor is to support economic development and improve regulatory efficiency and effectiveness in the territories, by increasing timeliness, transparency and predictability and ensuring a more streamlined federal approach to regulation.

The Office's work will ensure the Government of Canada's regulatory processes proceed smoothly on Northern projects. It will do so while maintaining the unique legal, environmental and Aboriginal consultation obligations inherent in each territory's existing regulatory structure.

The Office will serve as a centralized federal source of expertise and information for project proponents, and will work in partnership with regulatory boards, territorial governments and federal councils to improve communication and coordination.

Operating within existing consultation guidelines and processes, NPMO will work closely with Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) and other Government of Canada departments to ensure an integrated, whole-of-government approach to project-related federal consultation in the territories. NPMO will hold the official Crown consultation record for projects in its portfolio.

Structure

The Northern Projects Management Office uses business practices based on international standards for project management. The office operates as a single project management team with staff in each of the territories and a Director General in Yellowknife, NWT, reporting to the Associate Vice President, CanNor. With staff in all three territories, NPMO is well-positioned to provide expert advice and guidance for project proponents on each territory's regulatory process.

NPMO is modelled on the coordination concept of NRCan's Major Projects Management Office, which has a mandate in the provinces. The coordination concept has been further developed, since NPMO operates within a different system of northern land-claims-based relationships and jurisdictions than that of the Major Projects Management Office.

Open for Business

In May of 2010, the Northern Projects Management Office began its work to track projects, build relationships across the federal regulatory system, develop project agreements, and maintain the Crown consultation record on projects in its portfolio. Moving forward, NPMO will work to identify systemic regulatory issues and provide regulatory and pathfinding guidance for project proponents.

In its first year of operation, NPMO will focus on projects in the mineral, oil and gas, and pipeline sectors. The office will provide responsive and efficient service for clients and individual projects. At a later date, major infrastructure projects may also be considered.

The Northern Projects Management Office works to support economic development and regulatory efficiency and effectiveness in the territories by:

• Providing clear direction for project proponents as they navigate through the regulatory system
  
  
• Improving federal effectiveness by coordinating the northern regulatory work of all federal departments to ensure an integrated whole-of-government approach.
  
  
• Improving predictability for industry by working with our federal partners to develop Project Agreements that establish agreed-upon timelines.
  
  
• Encouraging accountability by regularly assessing the progress of major projects through the regulatory process against agreed-upon assessment and permitting timelines and service standards.
  
  
• Increasing transparency by posting information to an online project tracker accessible to industry and the public.
  
  
• Facilitating communication and coordination between federal and territorial governments, regulatory boards, regional federal councils, industry, Aboriginal communities and governments, and the public around major northern projects.
  
  
• Holding the Crown consultation record for projects in its portfolio.