Environmental and community organizations
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What are the benefits of impact assessment?
The heart of the Impact Assessment Act is still to protect the environment, minimize negative consequences and ensure projects are developed in a way that benefits people. The Government of Canada retains its authority to stop projects when the negative federal impacts are just too great.
Protecting the environment is a shared responsibility with provinces and territories. For projects that are mainly the responsibility of those governments, the federal government limits its decision to areas that fall within its jurisdiction, like effects to migratory birds, fish and their habitat, Indigenous Rights, etc.
Today’s federal impact assessment process aims to provide more certainty and predictability while protecting the environment and respecting Indigenous rights. The involvement of environmental and community organizations in that process is essential.
Let’s get specific
The Impact Assessment Act has many benefits for environmental and community organizations.
More transparent and open process
Meaningful public engagement is at the heart of today’s federal impact assessment system. All documents related to assessments are available on the Canadian Impact Assessment Registry (the Registry). Each entry on the Registry contains project information including plans, reports, public notices, decisions, and links to funding and information sessions.
Different ways to participate
There are different ways for groups to participate at almost every step of the process. Environmental and community groups can join an information session, receive notifications, comment online, write to us or attend public hearings.
Funding for participation
Community and environmental groups can apply for funding through our Participant Funding Program (PFP) to help remove barriers for participation. The program provides funding at key stages of the assessment process, including the implementation of follow-up programs. Participant funding helps create an open and balanced assessment process, which strengthens the quality and credibility of federal assessments.
Protecting the environment doesn’t stop after a decision
When a project is approved under the Impact Assessment Act, the work doesn’t stop there: tracking and reporting on programs and posting information (like data and summaries) continues.
The purpose of our follow-up program is to:
- verify whether actual impacts match what was predicted in the Impact Assessment Report
- in other words, whether expected impacts are happening
- evaluate the effectiveness of measures put in place to reduce adverse effects
- measure the condition of key concerns identified during the impact assessment for which there is uncertainty regarding their outcomes or the effectiveness of mitigation measures
- provide opportunities for Indigenous Peoples and local communities to participate in monitoring, where appropriate
- ensure impact assessments continue to improve and keep getting better
During the post-decision phase, your organization, Indigenous groups and the public may be identified to participate in follow-up and monitoring activities or in Monitoring Committees.
With your input, the government can better support an efficient and effective assessment process that protects the environment and the people who live in it.
More collaborative assessments
We understand that community and environmental groups have limited resources which is why we are working to reduce your burden through collaboration. Our objective is "one project, one assessment." With recent changes to the impact assessment process, we are enhancing coordination with other jurisdictions by adding flexibility to substitute all or parts of assessments with provinces and territories through cooperation agreements.
By having "one project, one assessment," the impact assessment will be more:
- efficient: reduced duplication, shared activities, joint documentation, and joint review panel
- predictable: a clear process, leading to a common understanding of the guidance and potential impacts
Assessments examine more than the environment
The Government of Canada continues to assess social, economic, environment and health impacts of projects. There is also a priority on Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus), meaning the Government of Canada wants to understand how individuals from diverse ethnicities, genders, backgrounds, could potentially be differently affected and how negative effects could be mitigated. Your expertise and lived experience are critical to understanding this, which is why your participation is so important.
How to get involved
First, say hello.
We invite you to reach out to us as soon as possible, to better understand the impact assessment process.
We have offices you can contact in St. John’s, Halifax, Quebec, Toronto, Edmonton, and Vancouver.
You can find our contact details here: Contact the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada
How to prepare for an assessment
- Take a free on-line training course
- Discover how impact assessments work, including the phases of a project review
- Learn how to participate in an assessment
- Watch this video for tips on how to search the Registry and participate in an impact assessment
- Visit the Registry to learn about project-specific, regional, and strategic assessments
- Apply for participant funding
- Submit comments and information on an assessment
- Stay informed by reading the comments and information submissions of others
- Join a public session or public hearing
Tips to get the most out of your participation
- Identify issues that are important to you
- Help us understand the context in which the proposed project would take place
- Provide important knowledge or views about a project’s potential impacts
- Help identify and address the potential impacts of a proposed project in the early stages of an assessment
- Influence decisions about projects or measures to mitigate impacts
Stay informed
- Sign up for notifications about projects that matter to you
- Subscribe to the Our Impact Newsletter, a newsletter dedicated to policy, guidance, regulatory development, and other opportunities for engagement beyond project assessments (you will be redirected to an external website to subscribe)
- Follow us on social media
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