Honourable senators, too often, regulators can be a barrier to innovation and change rather than an example of it. However, regulatory agility in modernization and innovation are no longer optional as technological, economic and environmental risks rapidly evolve around us. Regulatory agility is essential if we’re to protect citizens and the environment while enabling domestic innovation that drives economic growth. That’s why my office’s motto is: “An innovative economy needs an innovative government.”

I recently had an opportunity to observe an excellent example of regulatory innovation in my home province of Nova Scotia through the Department of Environment and Climate Change and the Office of Service Efficiency, both under the leadership of Minister Timothy Halman.

They’ve created what’s called the Large Industrial File Team, or LIFT. LIFT was established to bring precision, consistency and speed to the oversight of complex industrial projects. Robust regulatory oversight is critical to building social licence, and regulatory certainty is key to successfully attracting the investment that’s vital to economic growth.

LIFT is made up of dedicated managers, engineers and hydrologists and seasoned environmental inspectors. They’re supported by specialists in water resources, environmental quality and industrial operations. Their collective role is to ensure that every decision is rooted in science, facts and evidence.

Among their first files is land-based carbon dioxide removal, particularly ocean alkalinity enhancement, or OAE, which we are currently studying in the Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans. OAE involves adding alkaline material to the ocean water to reduce acidity and improve ocean health, all while capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

This emerging field has not yet received the required regulatory expertise or attention. That’s why it’s significant that LIFT will now provide oversight of Nova Scotia’s Planetary Technologies, a global leader in OAE. Planetary Technologies was a finalist for the $100-billion XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition and recently secured a $31-million prepurchase of their carbon removal credits from a consortium of U.S. tech leaders. Oversight of Planetary Technologies was transferred to LIFT earlier this year, giving the company clear, evidence-based and agile regulatory oversights.

The LIFT initiative shows what’s possible when regulators embrace innovation. It creates clearer, more responsive and easier-to-navigate processes that open the door to globally competitive opportunities, all while upholding our responsibility to protect citizens, the environment and the economy.

Effective regulation isn’t about saying no. It’s about saying yes while supporting new approaches to ensuring that strong guardrails remain. Let’s not deregulate but regulate smarter and empower businesses to innovate while still protecting Canadians and what they value most. Thank you, colleagues.