Corrects million to billion in second paragraph
CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Canada's federal government has given itself the power to decide whether infrastructure projects aimed at stimulating the economy are subject to environmental assessment, a top minister said on Monday.
The move is aimed at streamlining approvals for C$12 billion ($9.4 billion) of public spending being planned to kick-start the country's flagging economy, Environment Minister Jim Prentice said.
Word of the policy, which also involves delegating some assessment decisions to the provinces, had already angered environmental groups. It comes into force immediately.
Prentice said decisions on which projects avoid vetting by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency will not be based on size or value.
"It's more a question of, based on the considerable experience we now have in close to 10 years of applying CEAA legislation, whether there are classes or categories of projects which do not ... have adverse environmental consequences," Prentice told reporters after giving a speech to a business audience in Calgary.
The federal cabinet will make those calls, he said.
($1=$1.27 Canadian)
(Reporting by Jeffrey Jones; Editing by Peter Galloway)