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Trade and Environment

Ongoing Environmental Assessments

Environmental Assessment of Trade - FAQ

TRANSPARENCY AND CONSULTATIONS

21. Who is consulted during an EA of a trade negotiations?

    • When a trade or investment negotiation is announced, a notice of intent is issued publicly in the Canada Gazette and/or on ITCAN’s “Trade Negotiations and Agreements” web site. This notice invites interested parties to submit their views on Canadian environmental matters related to the proposed negotiation.

    • An interdepartmental committee is established to conduct the analysis. Preliminary findings are then shared with the provincial and territorial governments, and an EA Advisory Group that consists of individuals from academia, industry, NGOs, and multilateral organizations.

    • Further to these consultations, the EA report is finalized and released publicly with a call for comments. Comments received from the public are shared with the interdepartmental EA Committee, negotiators, and inform subsequent EA analysis as well as future EA of trade work more broadly.

22. How can the public get involved?

    • At the beginning of each EA of a trade or investment negotiation, a notice of intent is issued that invites interested parties interested parties to submit their views on the likely and significant environmental impacts of the negotiation on Canada.

    • An EA report is issued at the conclusion of each phase of the EA for a negotiation and the public is invited to submit comments. These comments inform subsequent EA analysis as well as future EA of trade work more broadly.

    • All EA reports for trade and investment negotiations are available on International Trade Canada’s “Trade Negotiations and Agreement”’ web site. This site also provides updates on the negotiations and provides avenues for interested parties to comment on negotiations. Consultations with stakeholders are an important aspect in the development of Canadian negotiating position.

23. How are public comments used?

    • Comments received from the public pursuant to an EA of trade and investment negotiations are circulated to an interdepartmental EA Committee and trade negotiators. These comments inform future work on EA of trade.

    • An overview of public comments received, as well as an explanation of how they informed the analysis, may be included in subsequent EA reports. However, they will not be attributed to specific individuals or organizations.

    • Personal information is protected by the Privacy Act. Third party commercial information may be subject to requests under the Access to Information Act. However, no information will be released without prior consent.