2022-2023 Departmental Results Report: Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do - Impact Assessment Agency of Canada

Raison d’être

The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (the Agency) delivers high quality environmental and impact assessments to inform decision-making on major projects supporting sustainable development. Environmental and impact assessments are planning and decision-making tools that:

• assist with project design;
• facilitate Indigenous, public, and stakeholder participation; and
• ensure appropriate measures are identified and implemented to mitigate the adverse effects of designated projects.

Mandate and role

The Impact Assessment Act (IAA), which came into force on August 28, 2019, expanded the Agency’s mandate and responsibilities as the lead federal organization responsible for conducting and administering assessments. Under the IAA, the Agency is responsible for assessing the positive and negative environmental, economic, social, and health effects of designated projects. It is also the Crown Consultation Coordinator for Indigenous consultation of designated projects under the IAA.

The IAA replaces the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 (CEAA 2012) and includes transitional provisions for environmental assessments that began under the previous legislation. The Agency is responsible for ensuring that these transitional assessments complete requirements as soon as practicable as per CEAA 2012 provisions. Environmental assessments continuing under CEAA 2012 consider whether designated projects are likely to cause significant adverse effects that fall within the legislative authority of Parliament.

Impact assessments under the IAA consider whether the adverse effects of designated projects that fall within the legislative authority of Parliament are in the public interest. Impact assessments must take into account several factors, including:

• the extent to which the project contributes to sustainability;
• the extent to which the adverse effects of a project are significant;
• the implementation of mitigation measures that the decision-maker considers appropriate;
• the impacts on the Indigenous Peoples of Canada; and
• the extent to which the project contributes to or hinders the Government of Canada’s ability to meet its environmental obligations and commitments related to climate change.

Once a decision is taken, the Agency is responsible for verifying a project proponent’s compliance with the conditions in decision statements. It is also responsible for tracking and reporting on follow-up programs and adaptive management plans to verify the accuracy of predictions and determine the effectiveness of mitigation measures.

The Agency coordinates Crown Consultation activities throughout the impact assessment process by leading Government of Canada consultations with Indigenous Peoples to meet the statutory requirements of the IAA and the Crown’s legal duty to consult and accommodate. In doing so, the IAA mandates that the Agency support the Government of Canada’s commitments to uphold the rights of the Indigenous Peoples and implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.

Under the IAA, potential impacts on Indigenous Peoples and their rights must be considered in the impact assessment of a designated project. The IAA also requires consideration of the potential impacts on the rights of Indigenous Peoples at key decision points in the impact assessment process, including decisions about whether:

• an impact assessment is required;
• referral to a review panel is warranted; and
• the effects of a project within federal jurisdiction are in the public interest.

In addition, the IAA requires the Agency or review panel to take into account Indigenous Knowledge provided with respect to the designated project.

Both environmental and impact assessments inform government decision-making and support sustainable development. They do so by identifying opportunities to eliminate, reduce, or manage a project’s potential adverse effects and enhancing its potential benefits before a project is undertaken.

The Minister of Environment and Climate Change may refer the impact assessment of a designated project to an independent review panel if the Minister determines that it is in the public interest to do so. If a designated project includes physical activities regulated under the Nuclear Safety and Control Act or the Canadian Energy Regulator Act, the Minister is required to refer the impact assessment to an integrated review panel. The Agency supports the work of independent and integrated review panels by providing technical, procedural, and administrative support through a secretariat.

When a project is subject to an assessment by more than one order of government, the Agency coordinates with the other jurisdictions to identify the most efficient and effective means of working towards the “one project, one assessment” objective. The Minister may approve substituting a federal assessment with the process of another jurisdiction upon its request if the Minister is satisfied that criteria set out in the legislation are met, including that the process must consider the same factors as under the IAA, allow for participation of federal expert departments, and provide opportunities for Indigenous consultation and public engagement.

The Agency engages with international partners to promote IAA principles and works closely with Global Affairs Canada and other federal departments on activities related to impact assessment in multilateral agreements. It also has a direct role in Canada’s responsibilities in impact assessment in a transboundary context, including supporting the Agency’s President in his role as Canada’s point of contact under the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (Espoo Convention).

Regional and strategic assessments are two additional types of assessments conducted under the IAA. These assessments support the Government of Canada’s strategy for addressing cumulative effects and build on the previous CEAA 2012 provision, which allowed the Minister of Environment and Climate Change to appoint a committee to conduct a regional study.

Regional assessments examine the effects of current and anticipated physical activities in a specific region. This enables the Government of Canada to go beyond the scale of project-specific impact assessments to understand the regional context and identify development pressures and their effects in areas of existing or anticipated projects. The impacts considered in these assessments can include environmental, health, social, and economic effects, including cumulative effects.

Strategic assessments examine the impact of existing or proposed federal policies, plans, or programs that may cause or contribute to issues arising in the impact assessment of projects, as well as broader policy issues relevant to conducting impact assessments.

The IAA recognizes the importance of meaningful public participation and requires that opportunities for public participation be provided throughout the assessment process, as set out in legislation, regulations, policies, and guidance. The Agency engages on specific issues and assessments, implements the National Engagement and Outreach Strategy to listen to, and learn from, Canadians and Indigenous Peoples, and adjusts and improves its processes, policies, and programs accordingly.

The Agency is also responsible for leading federal project review activities under the environmental and social protection regimes, as set out in sections 22 and 23 of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement and the Northeastern Quebec Agreement. Because they are comprehensive, constitutionally protected land claim agreements, the Agency supports its President, who, as the Federal Administrator, must review and determine whether projects of a federal nature proposed under such agreements should proceed and, if so, under what conditions.