The way it works in the Yukon is that the Yukon Water Board publishes your application. Comments are made and come in from everywhere. The comments that come from the Department of Fisheries are generally followed pretty vigorously by the water board. Even though they don't really have an obligation to do it, they do it. I don't really know how the lower process works.
I will read one thing from a major mine in Canada that we worked for:
The biggest bottle neck for the projects in the North especially Nunavut is the slow process to obtain permits (4 to 5 years...) and this is mainly due to the shortage of human resources or right human resources in the government's organisations...to analyse all demands for all the coming projects. It is going to [start getting worse] if nothing is done. Mining Companies [are looking] at other countries since the delays are too long in Nunavut.
These are people I've worked for. Anyway, there's more to that, but that's a general statement.