Impact Assessment Agency of Canada

Impact Assessment Agency of Canada

Agence d'évaluation d'impact du Canada
Agency overview
Formed	1994
Jurisdiction	Government of Canada
Headquarters	Ottawa, Ontario
Employees	446 (2021)
Annual budget	$76.9 million (2020–2021)
Minister responsible	Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change
Agency executive	Terry Hubbard, President
Parent organization	Environment and Climate Change Canada
Website	www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca

The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC; French: Agence d'évaluation d'impact du Canada) is an agency of the Government of Canada responsible for federal environmental assessment process of major projects. It is part of the Environment and Climate Change Canada portfolio.

The agency assesses the environmental impacts of major projects in accordance with the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 and oversees most federal environmental assessment processes, except for projects regulated by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission or the Canada Energy Regulator (CER). The agency encourages public participation, provides administrative and advisory support for review panels, promotes sustainable development, and acts as the Crown Consultation Coordinator to integrate the federal government's Indigenous consultation activities. It is part of the Environment and Climate Change Canada portfolio and reports to the minister of environment and climate change.

History

The agency was established in 1994 prior to the adoption of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act in 1995 by the Parliament of Canada. The legislation is the legal basis for the federal environmental assessment process in Canada. On April 26, 2012, the Government introduced Bill C-38, the Jobs, Growth and Long-Term Prosperity Act, a provision of which repealed the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, replacing it with a new Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012. Bill C-38 received Royal Assent on 29 June 2012 and came into force on 6 July 2012.

The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada was previously known as the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (French: Agence canadienne d’évaluation environnementale). The change in name came into force on August 28, 2019, along with other consequential legislative amendments under an omnibus bill titled An Act to enact the Impact Assessment Act and the Canadian Energy Regulator Act, to amend the Navigation Protection Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts, which received royal assent on June 21, 2019.

Policy and guidance

Cumulative Effects

The CEAA defines Cumulative Effects Assessment as "An assessment of the incremental effects of an action on the environment when the effects are combined with those from other past, existing and future actions." "Cumulative effects are changes to the environment that are caused by an action in combination with other past, present and future human actions."

In 1994, the CEAA published A Reference Guide for the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act: Addressing Cumulative Environmental Effects.

CEAA's Operational Policy Statement defines a number of factors to be considered in the environmental assessment of a project that include,

"the characteristics of the project; the risks associated with the potential cumulative environmental effects; the health or status of valued components (VCs) that may be impacted by the cumulative environmental effects; the potential for mitigation and the extent to which mitigation measures may address potential environmental effects; and, the level of concern expressed by Aboriginal groups or the public."

References

• "Cumulative Effects Assessment Practitioners' Guide Appendix A Glossary", CEAA, Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, 20 March 2013, retrieved 15 December 2013
• Operational Policy Statement: Assessing Cumulative Environmental Effects under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012, May 2013a, archived from the original on 19 November 2013, retrieved 15 December 2013
• Cumulative Effects Assessment: A Case Study for the Kiskatinaw River Watershed Special Report. Appendix to FPB/SR/39 (PDF), Forest Practices Board, March 2011, archived from the original (PDF) on 17 December 2013, retrieved 15 December 2013
• Hegmann, G.; Cocklin, C.; Creasey, R.; et al. (February 1999), "Cumulative Effects Assessment Practitioners Guide, Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency", The Cumulative Effects Assessment Working Group, ISBN 0-660-17709-9

External links

• Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
• Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012