We are concerned that the Supreme Court of Canada’s recent opinion on the constitutionality of the Impact Assessment Act is being viewed as an opportunity to weaken federal impact assessment in the name of regulatory efficiency. [...] A majority of the Court identified four elements of the Act that require amendment in order to bring the Act into conformity with the Constitution. [...] Amend the regional and strategic assessment provisions to expand the ability of the Minister to appoint committees to conduct regional and strategic assessments with or without provincial cooperation, in order to better understand and more effectively manage cumulative effects on areas of federal jurisdiction. [...] As a result, the greatest opportunity to gain efficiencies in the delivery of effective assessments and informed decisions is by encouraging and facilitating the close involvement of federal regulatory departments, knowledge holders and independent experts, beginning in the earliest stages and continuing throughout assessments. [...] The Impact Assessment Act attempted to streamline the transition between assessment and regulatory permitting by requiring federal authorities to make their specialist or expert information or knowledge available to the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada.
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- Published in
- Canada
