Agreements related to assessments

The Government of Canada is committed to collaborating with various jurisdictions to ensure project assessments are timely, efficient, robust and protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples by increasing their participation and partnership.

Formal cooperation instruments, such as agreements and memoranda of understanding (MOU), set out how the federal government and a province, territory, or Indigenous governing body will work together. Cooperation instruments provide transparency and certainty for proponents, Indigenous Peoples, and stakeholders. Consult our Cooperation page for more information.

On this page

• Federal-provincial/federal-territorial agreements
• Collaboration with Indigenous governing bodies
• Collaboration with lifecycle regulators
• International agreements

Federal-provincial/federal-territorial agreements

Memoranda of understanding under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012

Canada and British Columbia developed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in 2013 to facilitate substitution of the federal assessment process to British Columbia under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012.

• Memorandum of understanding between the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office on substitution of environmental assessments (2013)

Impact assessment cooperation agreements under the Impact Assessment Act (IAA)

The Government of Canada has one cooperation agreement, with British Columbia, under the IAA.

• Impact assessment cooperation agreement between Canada and British Columbia
  • Backgrounder

Environmental assessment cooperation agreements under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 1992

The Government of Canada had several cooperation agreements with provinces and territories under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 1992. In many cases, Canada and the provinces and territories continue to work together in the spirit of these agreements.

• Canada - Yukon Agreement on Environmental Assessment Cooperation
• Canada - British Columbia Agreement for Environmental Assessment Cooperation
• Canada - Alberta Agreement for Environmental Assessment Cooperation
• Canada - Saskatchewan Agreement on Environmental Assessment Cooperation
• Canada - Manitoba Agreement on Environmental Assessment Cooperation
• Canada - Ontario Agreement on Environmental Assessment Cooperation
• Canada - Quebec Agreement on Environmental Assessment Cooperation
• Draft Canada - Newfoundland and Labrador Agreement for Environmental Assessment Cooperation

Collaboration with Indigenous governing bodies

The Government of Canada works in collaboration with Indigenous Peoples throughout the federal impact assessment process. The IAA provides for Indigenous jurisdictions to collaborate with the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) to conduct parts of or throughout an assessment.

Modern Treaties

IAAC works in collaboration with Modern Treaty Partners to advance impact assessment obligations outlined in comprehensive land claims (also known as “modern treaties”) and self-government agreements. Visit Final Agreements related to comprehensive land claims and self-government for more information and to read the agreements. Learn about IAAC’s role in the review process of projects under the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, the first land claim agreement in Canada.

Modern treaties often outline obligations and commitments related to:

• working in partnership to assess projects in treaty settlement lands and broader territories
• harmonizing respective impact assessment processes
• enhancing participation of Modern Treaty Partners in Review Panels
• seeking to achieve consensus with Modern Treaty Partners through collaboration during impact assessment processes
• enabling the development of Modern Treaty Partners’ own environmental assessment laws in some cases

Close collaboration between IAAC, who administers the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012, and the IAA, and Indigenous jurisdictions, ensures the efficient and effective coordination of these processes.

Collaboration with lifecycle regulators

IAAC has memoranda of understanding (MOU) with the CNSC and the CER. These MOUs serve to facilitate coordination and enhance efficiencies in the regulatory process for integrated impact assessments.

Protocols (or annexes) attached to each memorandum detail the cooperative processes. The protocols are evergreen documents that are updated as required to reflect best practices and lessons learned in the ongoing conduct of integrated impact assessments.

• Memorandum of Understanding Between the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
• Memorandum of Understanding Between the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada and the Canadian Energy Regulator

Thanks to these MOUs, IAAC and the lifecycle regulators have undertaken significant work to ensure efficient integrated impact assessments of proposed projects designated under the IAA. This work provides proponents with clarity in expectations and certainty in timelines.

International agreements

The Government of Canada recognizes the need to ensure that actions undertaken in Canada do not cause environmental harm to other nations. To that end, Canada has supported the development of and entered into international agreements that address environmental impacts that may cross borders, foster sound environmental practices, and advance international cooperation.

• The Transboundary environmental impact assessments: Espoo Convention sets out the obligations of the Parties to:
  • assess the potential environmental impacts of certain activities at an early stage of planning
  • provide to the government and public of an affected Party an opportunity to participate in the environmental impact assessment process
  • ensure that the results of the assessment are taken into account in the final decision about the project
  Canada ratified the Convention in 1998 with a reservation limiting its application to proposed activities that fall within federal jurisdiction with respect to environmental assessment. IAAC is the lead in Canada on the implementation of the Convention and works collaboratively with federal authorities and the other Parties to the Convention on the assessment of potential transboundary environmental impacts of activities outside and inside Canada.
• The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) outlines the rights and responsibilities of countries related to the use of the oceans, the seabed, their resources, and the protection and preservation of the marine environment. IAAC supports Canada’s engagement in various bodies to develop and implement processes and procedures for assessing the potential effects of activities under its jurisdiction and control in the marine environment.