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OTTAWA Industry groups are warning Ottawa against introducing certain exemptions on a project list set to be released under Bill C-69 this fall, saying such a move would politicize decisions over which oil and gas projects will be subject to new federal regulations.

The warnings come in response to a proposal by Ottawa to force some oilsands projects to face stricter federal environmental reviews if Alberta scraps its hard cap on oilsands emissions, now set at 100 million tonnes per year. The move was widely viewed as a political snare for United Conservative Party leader Jason Kenney, who has threatened to axe some of Alberta’s climate policies if he wins the upcoming provincial election.

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The decision by Ottawa would put so-called “in-situ” oilsands developments on a list of projects that specifies what kind of industrial activity will be subject to tough new federal environmental assessments. Under current legislation, in-situ projects, which use steam to loosen up bitumen reservoirs deep below the earth’s surface, are only subject to provincial reviews.