Impact Assessment Act (S.C. 2019, c. 28, s. 1)

Marginal note:Posting of decision statement on Internet site

66 The Agency must post on the Internet site any decision statement that the Minister issues under section 65.

Marginal note:Decision statement considered to be part of licence under Nuclear Safety and Control Act

• 67 (1) The Minister may, in a decision statement issued in relation to a designated project that includes activities that are regulated under the Nuclear Safety and Control Act, designate any condition that is included in the decision statement, and any condition designated by the Minister is considered to be a part of the licence issued under section 24 of that Act in relation to the designated project.

• Marginal note:Decision statement considered part of certificate, etc., under Canadian Energy Regulator Act

  (2) A decision statement issued in relation to a designated project that includes activities that are regulated under the Canadian Energy Regulator Act is considered to be a part of the certificate, order, permit, licence or authorization issued, the leave or exemption granted or the direction or approval given under that Act in relation to the designated project.

• Marginal note:Decision statement considered to be part of authorization, etc., under Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act

  (3) A decision statement issued in relation to a designated project that includes activities that are regulated under the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act is considered to be a part of the authorization or licence issued, the approval granted or the leave given under that Act in relation to the designated project.

• Marginal note:Non-application

  (3.1) Sections 120 to 152 do not apply to the administration or enforcement of this Act as it relates to a condition of a decision statement that is issued in relation to a designated project that includes activities that are regulated, as applicable, under the Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Act or the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act if the condition is a requirement of an authorization issued under the Act in question in relation to that designated project.

• Marginal note:Non-application

  (4) Sections 120 to 152 do not apply to the administration or enforcement of this Act as it relates to any condition that is considered to be a part of a licence and any decision statement that is considered to be a part of a licence, certificate, order, permit, authorization, leave, exemption, direction or approval.

Marginal note:Minister’s power — decision statement

• 68 (1) The Minister may amend a decision statement, including to add or remove a condition, to amend any condition or to modify the designated project’s description. However, the Minister is not permitted to amend the decision statement to change the decision included in it.

• Marginal note:Limitation — condition

  (2) The Minister may add, remove or amend a condition only if he or she is of the opinion that doing so will not increase the extent to which the effects that are indicated in the report with respect to the impact assessment of the designated project are adverse.

• Marginal note:Limitation and application

  (3) The Minister may add or amend a condition only if the new or amended condition could be established under subsection 64(1) or (2). Subsection 64(3) applies with respect to the new or amended condition if it could be established under subsection 64(2).

• Marginal note:Limitation — Nuclear Safety and Control Act

  (4) The Minister is not permitted to amend or remove a condition designated under subsection 67(1) and is not permitted to designate, under that subsection, any condition added under this section.

Marginal note:Public notice — amendment to decision statement

• 69 (1) If the Minister intends to amend a decision statement under section 68, the Minister must ensure that the following are posted on the Internet site:

  • (a) a draft of the amended decision statement; and

  • (b) a notice that invites the public to provide comments on the draft within the period specified.

• Marginal note:Posting of amended decision statement on Internet site

  (2) If, after taking into account any comments received from the public, the Minister decides to amend the decision statement, he or she must ensure that the amended decision statement and his or her reasons for amending the decision statement are posted on the Internet site.

Marginal note:Minister’s obligation

• 70 (1) The Minister must, after considering any views provided by the proponent on the matter, establish the period within which the proponent must substantially begin to carry out the designated project.

• Marginal note:Extension

  (2) The Minister may, after considering any views provided by the proponent on the matter, extend the period by any period that the Minister considers reasonable and, in that case, must ensure that a notice of the extension and the reasons for the extension are posted on the Internet site.

• Marginal note:Expiry of decision statement

  (3) If the proponent does not substantially begin to carry out the designated project within the period established by the Minister, or any extension of that period, the decision statement expires on the expiry of that period or any extension of that period.

• Marginal note:Notice posted on Internet site

  (4) The Agency must post on the Internet site a notice that a decision statement has expired.

Marginal note:Revocation of decision statement

71 If the proponent of a designated project advises the Minister in writing that the designated project will not — or will no longer — be carried out, the Minister may revoke the decision statement issued in respect of that project.

Marginal note:Amending decision statement — information

• 72 (1) The Minister may, before amending a decision statement, require the proponent of the designated project described in the decision statement to provide the Minister with any information that he or she considers necessary for the purpose of amending the decision statement.

• Marginal note:Offer to consult

  (2) If the decision statement is considered to be a part of a licence, certificate, order, permit, authorization, leave, exemption, direction or approval referred to in section 67, the Minister must, before amending or revoking the decision statement, offer to consult with the entity that issues the certificate, order, permit, licence or authorization, grants the exemption, gives the direction or gives or grants the leave or approval, as the case may be.

• Marginal note:Offer to consult — Nuclear Safety and Control Act

  (3) Before the Minister amends any portion of a decision statement referred to in subsection 67(1) that is not considered to be part of a licence referred to in that subsection, or revokes such a decision statement, he or she must offer to consult with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.

Termination of Impact Assessment

Marginal note:Termination by Agency or Minister

73 The Agency — or the Minister if the impact assessment of the designated project has been referred to a review panel — may terminate the impact assessment if the proponent advises the Agency or the Minister in writing that the designated project will not be carried out.

Confidential Information

Marginal note:No disclosure

74 Despite any other provision of this Act, no confidence of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada in respect of which subsection 39(1) of the Canada Evidence Act applies is to be disclosed or made available under this Act to any person.

Participant Funding Programs

Marginal note:Agency’s obligation

• 75 (1) The Agency must establish a participant funding program to facilitate the participation of the public in

  • (a) the Agency’s preparations for a possible impact assessment of — or the impact assessment of and the design or implementation of follow-up programs in relation to — designated projects that include physical activities that are designated by regulations made under paragraph 112(1)(e) or that are part of a class of activities designated by those regulations;

  • (b) the impact assessment of, and the design or implementation of follow-up programs in relation to, designated projects that are referred to a review panel and that do not include physical activities that are designated by regulations made under paragraph 112(1)(e) or that are not part of a class of activities designated by those regulations; and

  • (c) regional assessments and strategic assessments.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (2) The obligation does not apply with respect to any designated project for which the Minister has approved the substitution of a process under section 31.

Cost Recovery

Marginal note:Regulations

• 76 (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations

  • (a) providing for fees, charges or levies that are payable for the purpose of recovering all or a portion of any costs incurred by the Agency or a review panel in relation to the exercise of its powers or the performance of its duties and functions; and

  • (b) providing for the manner of calculating those fees, charges or levies and their payment to the Agency.

• Marginal note:Proponent’s obligation to pay costs

  (2) If the Agency or a review panel incurs a cost in relation to the exercise of its powers or the performance of its duties and functions in respect of which no fee, charge or levy is provided for under subsection (1), the proponent of the designated project in respect of which the power is exercised or the duty or function is performed must pay to the Agency

  • (a) any costs that the Agency or review panel incurs for prescribed services provided by a third party in the exercise of that power or the performance of that duty or function; and

  • (b) any prescribed amount that is related to the exercise by the Agency or review panel of that power or the performance by it of that duty or function.

• Marginal note:Service Fees Act

  (3) The Service Fees Act does not apply to the fees, charges or levies referred to in subsection (1) or the prescribed amount referred to in paragraph (2)(b).

Marginal note:Powers exercised, duties and functions performed during a given period

77 For the purposes of section 76, the powers, duties and functions are limited to those exercised or performed during the period that begins on the day on which the initial description of a designated project referred to in subsection 10(1) is received by the Agency and ends on the day on which the follow-up program in respect of the project is completed.

Marginal note:Expenditure of fees, charges, etc.

78 The Agency may spend for any prescribed purpose the fees, charges, levies, costs and amounts referred to in section 76 in the fiscal year in which they are paid or, unless an appropriation Act provides otherwise, in the next fiscal year.

Marginal note:Debt due to Her Majesty

79 The fees, charges and levies that are payable, and the costs and amounts that the proponent must pay, under section 76 constitute a debt due to Her Majesty in right of Canada and may be recovered as such in any court of competent jurisdiction.

Marginal note:Unpaid fees, charges, etc.

80 If a proponent does not pay a fee, charge, levy, cost or amount referred to in section 76 that they owe within 90 days after the day on which it is due,

• (a) the Agency is authorized, despite any other provision of this Act, to not exercise any of its powers or not perform any of its duties or functions in relation to an impact assessment of any designated project that the proponent proposes to carry out until the proponent pays the debt; or

• (b) the Minister may, if an impact assessment of any designated project that the proponent proposes to carry out has been referred to a review panel, make an order directing the review panel to, despite any other provision of this Act, not exercise any of its powers or not perform any of its duties or functions in relation to the impact assessment until the proponent pays the debt.

Duties of Certain Authorities in Relation to Projects

Marginal note:Definitions

81 The following definitions apply in this section and sections 82 to 91.

authority

authority means

• (a) a federal authority; and

• (b) any other body that is set out in Schedule 4. (autorité)

environmental effects

environmental effects means changes to the environment and the impact of these changes on the Indigenous peoples of Canada and on health, social or economic conditions. (effets environnementaux)

project

project means

• (a) a physical activity that is carried out on federal lands or outside Canada in relation to a physical work and that is not a designated project or a physical activity designated by regulations made under paragraph 112(1)(a.2); and

• (b) a physical activity that is designated under section 87 or that is part of a class of physical activities that is designated under that section. (projet)

Marginal note:Project carried out on federal lands

82 An authority must not carry out a project on federal lands, exercise any power or perform any duty or function conferred on it under any Act of Parliament other than this Act that could permit a project to be carried out, in whole or in part, on federal lands or provide financial assistance to any person for the purpose of enabling that project to be carried out, in whole or in part, on federal lands, unless

• (a) the authority determines that the carrying out of the project is not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects; or

• (b) the authority determines that the carrying out of the project is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects and the Governor in Council decides, under subsection 90(3), that those effects are justified in the circumstances.

Marginal note:Project outside Canada

83 A federal authority must not carry out a project outside Canada, or provide financial assistance to any person for the purpose of enabling that project to be carried out, in whole or in part, outside Canada, unless

• (a) the federal authority determines that the carrying out of the project is not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects; or

• (b) the federal authority determines that the carrying out of the project is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects and the Governor in Council decides, under subsection 90(3), that those effects are justified in the circumstances.

Marginal note:Factors

• 84 (1) An authority’s determination regarding whether the carrying out of the project is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects must be based on a consideration of the following factors:

  • (a) any adverse impact that the project may have on the rights of the Indigenous peoples of Canada recognized and affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982;

  • (b) Indigenous knowledge provided with respect to the project;

  • (c) community knowledge provided with respect to the project;

  • (d) comments received from the public under subsection 86(1); and

  • (e) the mitigation measures that are technically and economically feasible and that would mitigate any significant adverse environmental effects of the project that the authority is satisfied will be implemented.

• Marginal note:Factors — project outside Canada

  (2) However, if the project is to be carried out outside Canada, the authority’s determination need not include a consideration of the factors set out in paragraphs (1)(a) and (b).