The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, operating asImpact Assessment Agency, was formerly known as the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency is a division of Environment and Climate Change Canada that reports to the federal Minister of the Environment. The change in name came into force on August 28, 2019, along with its consequential legislative amendments that received royal assent on June 21, 2019. The Agency provides leadership and serves as a centre of expertise for federal environmental assessment in accordance with the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012. It is responsible for the overall administration of the federal environmental assessment process, except for projects regulated by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission or the Canada Energy Regulator. In this context, the Agency's main responsibilities in conducting the environmental assessment process are to encourage public participation; promote high-quality assessment through training and guidance; provide administrative and advisory support for review panels; promote the use of strategic environmental assessment as a key tool to support sustainable decision making; and act as the Crown Consultation Coordinator to integrate the Government of Canada's Indigenous consultation activities into the EA processes it manages to the greatest extent possible.
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 Act is the legal basis for the federal environmental assessment process in Canada. On 26 April 2012, the Government introduced Bill C-38, the Jobs, Growth and Long-Term prosperity Act, a provision of which repealed the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, replacing it with a new Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012.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.
Mandate
The Agency's role is to provide Canadians with high-quality federal environmental assessments that contribute to informed decision making in support of sustainable development. The Agency leads the federal review process for most major projects and coordinates the Government of Canada's Indigenous consultation activities during the environmental assessment process.
Organization
The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada has approximately 280 employees across Canada. The Agency is headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, and has five regional offices across Canada: Atlantic, Québec, Ontario, Prairie and Northwest Territories, and Pacific and Yukon. The Agency also has a presence in St. John's, with a satellite office for the Atlantic region having been established in September 2018.
Acts and Regulations
Impact Assessment Act
Regulations Designating Physical Activities
Information and Management of Time Limits Regulations
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,
