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Environmental Assessment:
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1. Expanding the Knowledge 2. Building Effective Partnerships 3. Strengthening Internal Capacity |
Environmental assessment (EA) is an essential
practice for the federal government to advance sustainable development,
avoid the costly mistakes of the past, and protect the environment.
It provides a systematic approach for identifying, predicting,
evaluating, and mitigating the potential environmental effects
of proposed projects and policies before decisions are made.
This ensures that the environmental implications are taken into
account by decision makers in the same way as social, economic
and policy factors are considered.
The Agency reports to Parliament using one business
line, which also serves as its mission: "To provide Canadians with high-quality
federal environmental assessments that contribute to informed decision making
in support of sustainable development."
The structure of the Agency is summarized in the following chart. There also are six regional offices located in Halifax (serving Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island), Quebec City (serving Quebec), Toronto (serving Ontario), Winnipeg (serving Saskatchewan and Manitoba), Edmonton (serving Alberta), and Vancouver (serving British Columbia, Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut).
Table 1
Different parties have an interest in the environmental assessment of a project, including the proponent of the undertaking, the public that may be affected by it, and the various governments involved in conducting it. The interests of the parties sometimes coincide, but often conflict, given that the cost and benefits of an undertaking are different for each.
The Agency's ability to carry out its mission is based on its capacity to meet new challenges and adapt to emerging trends. A comprehensive issue scan identified a number of socio-economic and political forces that shape the context in which the Agency operates. The Agency intends to use the sustainable development strategy as one instrument to address the following challenges.
As stated in the preamble of the Act, "The Government of Canada seeks to achieve sustainable development by conserving and enhancing environmental quality, and by encouraging and promoting economic development that conserves and enhances environmental quality." The review of the Act, launched in December 1999, identified operational areas of the Act that could be improved. The Minister of the Environment will report to Parliament in early 2001 outlining recommendations that could be legislative, regulatory, or policy changes. These will contribute to the achievement of the purposes of the Act, one of which is "to encourage responsible authorities [federal departments and agencies that conduct environmental assessments] to take actions that promote sustainable development and thereby achieve or maintain a healthy environment and a healthy economy."
Environmental assessment is at the forefront of many sensitive issues affecting socio-economic development, environmental protection, Aboriginal interests, and federal-provincial relations. The complexity and profile of projects undergoing assessments are increasing and involve competing stakeholders' interests. The challenge is to balance these interests while maintaining productive relationships and delivering high-quality services to all stakeholders.
Unlike many other jurisdictions where one government agency is responsible for carrying out environmental assessments, a distinctive feature of the federal process is that the government department or agency with decision-making authority in a project (as a proponent, funder, landowner, or regulator) must ensure that an assessment is conducted. Therefore, the nature of the legislation results in the environment being considered in a broad range of federal government planning and permitting activities.
Under the Canadian Constitution, responsibility
for environmental management is an area of shared jurisdiction. Although this
arrangement has the potential to lead to duplication and delays, the Agency
works with its provincial counterparts to ensure co-operation in environmental
assessment, and to promote the consistent and predictable application of environmental
assessment processes across Canada.
During the past five years, fiscal pressures
have affected federal environmental assessment activities, as departments were
asked to meet their legislated requirements with reduced budgets. There is a
continual challenge to find new cost-effective ways of conducting high-quality
environmental assessments.
Considerable variation exists among Canadian
jurisdictions in terms of the opportunities provided for public participation
through environmental assessment legislation and regulations. One important
concern has been to provide earlier opportunities for public involvement in
the environmental assessment process. A continuing challenge is to find new
ways to engage the public and address their concerns while meeting proponents'
desire for expeditious processes.
Aboriginal self-government is reshaping environmental assessment
throughout Canada. Through comprehensive land claims and self-government agreements,
new Aboriginal-based environmental assessment regimes are being established.
The Agency is working closely with Aboriginal groups to develop tools that will
assist these communities in maintaining environmental integrity and achieving
sustainable development, while respecting self-determination objectives.
An important development in the last decade has been the globalization of the economy. Globalization draws attention to the potential for Canada's environmental assessment laws and regulations to adversely affect the private sector, particularly when compared to the processes of our trading competitors. Although numerous studies have concluded that the cost of environmental assessment in Canada is typically a very low percentage of the total cost of a project, and effective environmental assessment processes provide net economic benefits to society, process uncertainty remains a challenge.
The Agency has been successful in meeting the commitments outlined in its 1997 Sustainable Development Strategy. Over the last three years, the Agency has broadened the scope of the application of the Act, developed tools to improve monitoring, follow-up, and compliance with the Act, expanded its network of regional offices, and enhanced its training and guidance capabilities. It has also worked co-operatively with a range of stakeholders to promote a consistent, predictable, and efficient environmental assessment process across Canada. Perhaps the greatest achievement has been to put in place a solid foundation from which the Agency can move forward in promoting sustainable decision making.
In preparation for the 2000 Sustainable Development Strategy, a comprehensive evaluation of the 1997 strategy was undertaken. A copy of the evaluation, entitled Achievements and Expectations, is available at www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca. This was followed by an in-depth issue scan, where all Agency activities were reviewed to determine their impact on sustainable development and identify any challenges that may impede progress. To address these challenges, the Agency plans to build on the strategic direction outlined in its first strategy, but focus its efforts on areas where it can be most effective. A more selective focus in the sustainable development strategy will not limit the ongoing work within the Agency on other programs, policies and operations that clearly contribute to sustainable development.
As previously noted, the Agency's mandate supports sustainable development, and it is in a unique position whereby many of the activities (as outlined in its Report on Plans and Priorities) designed to fulfill the key result commitments, contribute to sustainable development. Similar to the sustainable development strategy, the key result commitments outline the Agency's long-term commitments to Canadians.
The Agency will continue to undertake all activities that contribute to high-quality environmental assessment and support sustainable development, thereby fulfilling its key result commitments. It will report on this ongoing effort through both the Report on Plans and Priorities and the Departmental Performance Report.
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Key Result Commitments To ensure:
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By focusing the Sustainable Development Strategy on
new directions and opportunities to be pursued over the next three years, this
next strategy will ensure that the Agency:
The Agency plans to promote environmental assessment as a critical tool for sustainable development in three main ways: by expanding the knowledge and understanding of environmental assessment; by building effective partnerships with its federal partners and others; and by strengthening its internal capacity to deliver its products and services. The following section elaborates on each theme by describing the Agency's activities that contribute to it. This section also outlines the resulting sustainable development goals, objectives, actions and targets. The actions represent specific measurable steps the Agency will undertake to achieve the long-term target and show progress over the three-year period.
The Agency is a source of expertise and advice on the operational aspects of conducting environmental assessments under the Act. It provides procedural advice to a wide range of clients, including other government departments, the provinces, proponents and other interested parties, to promote an understanding of and compliance with the Act.
Projects across Canada affect all three pillars (social, economic and environmental) of sustainable development. The Agency maintains close working relationships with the federal departments and agencies that have responsibilities under the Act for either conducting environmental assessments or for providing technical expertise in support of them. In addition, the Agency has specific responsibilities for certain types of assessments such as comprehensive studies, panel reviews, mediations and class screenings.
The Government of Canada began the practice of environmental assessment in the 1970s. Environmental assessment has evolved rapidly over the years and with each year, the knowledge base expands on how to manage development that meets the needs of the present generation, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Close to 6000 assessments are conducted each year. Of these, approximately 30 comprehensive studies and panel reviews are active in any given year. Although few in number, environmental assessments conducted as comprehensive studies and panel reviews can have a considerable impact on sustainable development in Canada. They are larger, more complex projects, that can have a significant impact on the environment and, therefore, garner more public attention.
Environmental assessment is an effective tool to reinforce the positive and mitigate the negative or adverse effects of projects. As a process for informing decision making, its strength lies in the analysis that requires federal departments to generate the information needed to make informed, sound decisions on the environmental effects of projects, before any action is taken that would allow the project to proceed. The Agency assists responsible authorities in understanding their requirements under the Act in order to make balanced and informed decisions in support of sustainable development. It provides technical advice and support on panels and comprehensive studies to ensure the Act is implemented effectively and efficiently.
Furthermore, it is involved in building innovative approaches to environmental assessment such as the development of class screenings, which outline procedures for assessing projects of a similar nature under a single set of requirements, and through the research and promotion of progressive practices such as alternate dispute resolution. In addition, the Agency intends to improve the science and practice of environmental assessment through its research and development program. Expanding the knowledge through research and development will improve environmental assessment and contribute to sustainable development. The Agency also administers the participant funding program for panel reviews. Meaningful public participation is a fundamental aspect of the environmental assessment process. Through public participation, all interested persons and organizations have a fair opportunity to contribute to the environmental assessment process. Proponents and government decision makers are provided with more comprehensive information about possible environmental effects, can better address public concerns, and final decisions can better reflect community values.
The Act, which is premised on the principle of self-assessment, requires the sharing of knowledge and some consistency in the manner in which assessments are undertaken. Consequently, education and training programs are developed to transfer knowledge about the Act and current environmental assessment practices to other government departments, the provinces, and other interested parties. By educating and informing departments and others about environmental assessment, they are better equipped to conduct and participate in assessments. To facilitate the sharing of information, the Agency has six regional offices located in major centers across the country. These offices provide federal and provincial officials, proponents, partners and clients with current information, advice, and training, on environmental assessment activities and practices. By expanding the knowledge and sharing it, the Agency promotes sustainable practices and provides consistent advice on ways to continually improve the quality of environmental assessments across the country.
1.1 Objective: Advance the science and practice of environmental assessment
1.1.1 Action
Class screening is a means to efficiently assess projects with similar characteristics for which the environmental effects are known, predictable, and can be addressed. The Agency will identify potential candidates and work with federal departments and proponents to develop and declare model class screening reports.
To promote and expand the use of class screening, the
Agency will:
1.1.2 Action
Changes to the Exclusion List Regulations will facilitate the direction of resources to projects that have the greatest potential for adverse environmental effects.
To improve the effectiveness of efforts expended by
federal authorities on environmental assessment, the Agency will:
1.1.3 Action
Public participation is an underlying principle of environmental assessments that helps in addressing sustainable development. It allows stakeholders to identify their concerns before decisions are made.
To promote and expand public participation
in the environmental assessment process, the Agency will:
1.1.4 Action
Expanding knowledge through research and development (R&D) will improve the practice of environmental assessment and contribute to sustainable development.
To implement a research and development program that builds partnerships in support of sustainable development, the Agency will:
1.2 Objective: Learn from experience and share results
1.2.1 Action
Training is one of the most effective means to increase awareness, and continually improve the understanding of sustainable development issues. The Agency will review and update key training and guidance materials to include reference to sustainable development, where appropriate. It will share current environmental assessment information with partners and stakeholders on a regular basis.
To learn from the experiences of those involved in environmental assessments and share these results, the Agency will:1.3 Objective: Strengthen relationships with partners and stakeholders
1.3.1 Action
The Agency can be more effective in expanding knowledge of environmental assessment by building and maintaining productive relationships with partners and stakeholders.
To strengthen relationships with federal departments, provincial governments, Aboriginal groups and other stakeholders, the Agency will:The Agency supports the public policy objectives of the federal government in the area of environmental assessment in two main ways. First, it develops the conceptual framework through legislation, regulations, policies, intergovernmental agreements, consultation mechanisms, and other strategies. These are required to establish, maintain, and promote effective environmental assessment processes and practices. Second, the Agency is responsible for developing the knowledge base and providing policy advice to a wide range of clients to improve the implementation of federal procedures and advance the theory and practice of environmental assessment, both in Canada and abroad.
The environment is a shared resource that must be managed in a consistent manner. Environmental assessment can facilitate long-term planning for sound environmental and resource management. The Agency strives to ensure that environmental assessment practices in Canada are at the forefront of practices worldwide by examining innovative approaches to environmental assessment, by implementing and promoting the Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan, and Program Proposals, and by incorporating innovative concepts such as traditional ecological knowledge into the environmental assessment process.
Given that the Act is premised on the principle of self-assessment and the majority of assessments are completed by other federal departments and agencies, the Agency's success lies in its ability to build effective partnerships in order to transfer its knowledge and to promote sound understanding of and compliance with the Act. Within the environmental sphere, the environmental assessment of projects can have a high public profile. The Agency has a role to play in building co-operation among a range of often competing stakeholder views. It has formed valuable partnerships with the other government departments, the provinces, Aboriginal groups, and a wide variety of stakeholders in order to communicate the benefits of high-quality environmental assessment and to raise the profile of the best practices in the field.
In building effective partnerships, negotiations with other federal departments, provincial governments, and Aboriginal groups are important for the development of a more consistent and co-ordinated approach to environmental assessment. This involves integration and co-ordination with existing processes to increase efficiency and reduce the duplication of effort.
An ongoing activity that is important for all partners is the continual improvement of the Act and its regulations, to enhance both its operation and administration and to reduce any unintended effects of the regulatory framework governing environmental assessment. This is accomplished by expanding the scope and coverage of the Act (to include selected Crown corporations and airport authorities), by developing and adjusting legislation, regulations and policies related to environmental assessment, and through co-operative efforts with federal departments to improve compliance with the Act, enhance the quality of assessments and strengthen the associated follow-up programs. In addition, the Agency is currently engaged in a comprehensive review of the operation and provisions of the Act. Partnerships are key to the success of the review of the Act in order to address concerns, improve the process, and ensure a practical and workable approach for federal departments and stakeholders.
2.1 Objective: Improve the Agency's capacity to monitor, assess and foster compliance
2.1.1 Action
Environmental assessments can be improved by building effective partnerships with those conducting environmental assessments in order to learn from the past, and promote consistent practices.
To strengthen relationships with federal partners and improve compliance with the Act through the implementation of a government-wide quality assurance program, the Agency will:develop an internal mechanism to ensure continual improvement of the environmental assessment process by reviewing results of the Program by 2003.
2.2 Objective: Address gaps in the application of the Act and other federal environmental assessment processes
2.2.1 Action
Filling gaps in environmental assessment coverage will increase the number of projects subject to the Act and thereby contribute to sustainable development. The Agency will develop regulations for selected Crown corporations and for entities operating on federal lands to ensure that the Act is applied in an appropriate and comprehensive manner.
To extend the scope and coverage of the Act, the Agency will:2.3 Objective: Clarify and improve environmental assessment processes with other jurisdictions and with federal partners
2.3.1 Action
As previously noted, environmental assessment is an area of shared jurisdiction in Canada. Partnerships are key to ensure the successful co-ordination of environmental assessment process across Canada.
To increase the efficiency of the process by improving co-operation and co-ordination with other jurisdictions and partners, the Agency will:2.3.2 Action
While recognizing the need for First Nations and Inuit to have their own environmental assessment processes to inform their decision making, the Agency promotes harmonization of Aboriginal processes with the federal process.
To facilitate the harmonization of environmental assessment regimes with First Nations and Inuit, the Agency will:2.3.3 Action
The Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals (also known as Strategic Environmental Assessment or SEA), is an effective means of incorporating environmental considerations early in the policy making process.
To assist its federal partners in understanding their SEA responsibility, the Agency will:Effective management enables the Agency to meet its overall goals and objectives and to develop corporate plans that position the Agency to meet present and future challenges. In promoting sustainable management practices, the Agency seeks to integrate environmentally sound decision making into management and policy agendas through the provision of innovative support services.
The Agency plans to strengthen its internal capacities to ensure the effective and efficient delivery of its products and services. This requires several key functional roles in support of sustainable development. For example, consistent, accurate, and relevant communication services promote and encourage the incorporation of sustainable development into both management strategies, and policy and program initiatives.
Strategic human resource management promotes a proactive, equitable, and skilled work force; fosters a continuous learning environment, and maintains a high standard of leadership. These elements are essential in order to meet the challenges of the Agency's complex and diverse operating environment.
Another key element of an effective environmental assessment process is its successful promotion to the public and Parliament. The Agency's information holdings, such as the Web site and the Federal Environmental Assessment Index, ensure that accurate accessible information is available on projects being assessed and on a wide range of issues related to environmental assessment.
Through the implementation of the Environmental Management System, the Agency can direct its collective effort towards greening its internal operations. This system focuses on five elements: solid waste management; green procurement; human resource management; energy and water conservation; and transportation. Given the nature and scale of the Agency's operations, the adverse environmental impact of its internal operations is limited. The primary environmental effects are from the operation of its headquarters and regional offices, the publication of documents, and the modes of travel of its employees. However, the Agency is committed to making itself a model of environmental excellence and, as such, has instituted a Green Co-ordinator and Green Committee with a senior management champion. The Agency is actively engaged in increasing employees' awareness and participation in efforts to green its internal operations.
3.1 Objective: Be recognized as a credible advocate of high-quality environmental assessment
3.1.1 Action
Effective communication is fundamental in understanding how environmental assessment contributes to sustainable development.
To provide consistent and accurate communication services that incorporate the Agency's contribution to sustainable development in management strategies, policy positions and program initiatives, the Agency will:3.2 Objective: Focus on the recruitment and retention of a highly skilled work force
3.2.1 Action
The Agency cannot carry out its mandate and, therefore, contribute to sustainable development without a dynamic work force.
To focus on recruitment and retention of a highly skilled work force to support Agency priorities, the Agency will:3.3 Objective: Increase the Agency's environmentally sustainable practices
3.3.1 Action
In line with federal government commitments in this area, the Agency plans to make itself a model of environmental excellence within its internal operations.
To meet or exceed federal "best practices guidelines" for greening internal operations, the Agency will:3.3.2 Action
The implementation of the Sustainable Development Strategy can only be kept on track if regularly monitored. Monitoring will enable the Agency to check whether it is on course, identify any corrective action needed over the three-year period and advise senior management of progress. Any necessary adjustments to the actions or targets contained within the strategy will be made through the Agency's annual Report on Plans and Priorities.
To strengthen the internal capacity required to implement the commitments contained within the sustainable development strategy, the Agency will:In order to ensure the sustainable development strategy is in line with the Agency's objectives and relevant to stakeholders, two internal and external consultations were undertaken with key individuals and groups having an interest in environmental assessment, including Agency employees.
In addition, the Agency participated in the following interdepartmental efforts related to sustainable development:
Who was consulted
More than 300 individuals were consulted on both the evaluation of the 1997 Sustainable Development Strategy and the draft 2000 strategy. This included the following individuals and organizations:
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