Amendments to the Impact Assessment Act

The IAA amendments attempt to address key issues raised by the SCC’s opinion but do nothing to improve the systemic issues of transparency and delay that have been a source of criticism for decades. In particular, the IAA amendments focus on the following:

Effects within federal jurisdiction. These effects will still be identified and subjected to the decision-making processes under the IAA. The amendments redefine such effects to ensure that they more clearly fall within federal jurisdiction. For example, effects in another province have been removed from the definition of effects within federal jurisdiction. Interprovincial effects are therefore no longer expressly subject to assessment. As well, effects will be assessed only if they meet minimum thresholds: they must now be non-negligible and adverse.

Steps for decision-making. Two steps are now required for decision-making relating to the significance and justification of anticipated effects (reintroducing concepts from the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 ):

First, possible mitigation measures must be considered, as decision-makers determine if the subject effects are significant. If the effects are not significant, the assessment process comes to an end, and the project is approved.
Second, if the effects are significant, the existing public interest test now requires a determination of whether the effects are justified in the public interest.

Public interest test. In response to the SCC’s criticism of the breadth of the public interest test, amendments have been made to link the factors to be considered in the test with effects within federal jurisdiction. However, broad concepts remain (such as “sustainability”) and may attract further scrutiny.

Collaboration between governments. Certain minor amendments have been made to foster greater collaboration between the provincial and federal governments, in keeping with the SCC’s call for flexible and cooperative federalism in the impact assessment process. However, these changes do not, on their own, address the underlying issue of delay.

Federal Impact Assessment: Legislative Amendments and Cabinet Directive

Federal Impact Assessment

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