I probably would agree with you. I find it, of course, a little amusing, in that most of us who are involved in the business of trying to get things built recognize that there are many approvals that we have to get and many opportunities for the public to express their opinion on a given project.
However, with respect to this act, I would favour something that would kick in well in advance of our getting to the stage of a project, whether wholly or partially completed, that would be unacceptable. And as a lawyer pointed out to me once before, failure to apply under this act is not a violation of the act itself, whereas if that were something that was dealt with, that might well ensure that we would deal with things up front.
Certainly for anything that involves significant federal funding, as many transportation projects do, kick in the entire CEAA process, ensure adequate consultation at the beginning and middle of a project, and ensure public comment on the project.