The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC; french: link=, Agence d'évaluation d'impact du Canada) is an agency of the

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown-i ...

responsible for federal environmental assessment process of major projects. It is part of the

Environment and Climate Change Canada Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC; french: Environnement et Changement climatique Canada),Environment and Climate Change Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of the Environment ...

portfolio. The agency assesses the environmental impacts of major projects in accordance with the ''

Canadian Environmental Assessment Act The ''Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012'' (CEAA 2012) (the ''Act'') and its regulations established the legislative basis for the federal practice of environmental assessment in most regions of Canada from 2012 to 2019. It was repealed w ...

, 2012'' and oversees most federal environmental assessment processes, except for projects regulated by the

Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC; french: Commission Canadienne de sûreté nucléaire) is the federal regulator of nuclear power and materials in Canada. Mandate and history Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission was established under t ...

or the

Canada Energy Regulator Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by total ...

(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

portfolio and reports to the

minister of environment and climate change The minister of environment and climate change (french: ministre de l'environnement et du changement climatique) is a minister of the Crown in the Cabinet of Canada. The portfolio is responsible for the Environment and Climate Change Canada, as ...

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 Parliament of Canada (french: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, ...

. 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 The ''Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act'' (informally referred to as Bill C-38) is an Act of the Parliament of Canada. This omnibus bill was introduced by Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance under Prime Minister Steven Harper's majorit ...

'', 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: link=no, 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 An omnibus bill is a proposed law that covers a number of diverse or unrelated topics. ''Omnibus'' is derived from Latin and means "to, for, by, with or from everything". An omnibus bill is a single document that is accepted in a single vote by a ...

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 Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in oth ...

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,

Notes

Citations

References

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External links

Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency

{{authority control Environment of Canada Federal departments and agencies of Canada Environmental agencies in Canada Environmental law in Canada 1994 establishments in Canada