Operational Issues
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is a tool used by the federal, provincial and territorial governments to ensure that any significant adverse environmental impacts of a regulated project are considered and mitigated before the project is permitted to proceed. Such EIA processes typically require substantial public and Indigenous consultation obligations (see the discussion of the latter under “Crown’s Duty to Consult and Accommodate Indigenous People,” below). If the project is under both federal and provincial jurisdictions, the federal government may encourage coordination with the provinces and may substitute the EIA process of another jurisdiction for its own. In 2019, Canada revised its EIA regime, enacting the Impact Assessment Act (IAA). The IAA was intended to be more robust than past federal assessment legislation, addressing a range of sustainability issues (including social, health and economic) and paying particular attention to the effects of a reviewable project on Indigenous peoples and their rights. Environmental effects to be considered are those within federal jurisdiction, such as fisheries, migratory birds and species at risk, as well as those effects from a project that would hinder or contribute to the federal government’s ability to meet its climate change commitments. Projects subject to the IAA are either (i) on a “project list” (including most large infrastructure, energy and natural resource developments), or (ii) designated projects whose activities are under federal jurisdiction (such as federal lands) and may cause significant adverse effects. A designated project may not be carried out unless the effects are in the “public interest,” taking various specified factors into account. Legal challenges have been raised to the constitutional validity of the IAA, but it continues to apply while an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada remains pending (a decision of the Court is expected in early 2024).
Environmental impact assessment is a tool used by the federal, provincial and territorial governments to ensure that any significant adverse environmental impacts of a regulated project are considered and mitigated before the project is permitted to proceed.
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Doing Business in Canada
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