Science and Indigenous Knowledge as the Evidentiary Basis for Impact Assessment

• Author: Martin Olszynski and Justina Ray
• Pages: 466-490

466

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Science and Indigenous Knowledge as the

Evidentiary Basis for Impact Assessment

Martin Olszynski and Justina Ray

A. INTRODUCTION

In this chapter, we consider the Impact Assessment Act’s (IAA)1 approach

to science and Indigenous knowledge. We begin by setting out the roles

that science and Indigenous knowledge play in establishing the eviden-

tiary basis for impact assessment and decision making. We also consider

the unsatisfactory manner in which science and Indigenous knowledge

have been applied over the past four decades of Canadian impact assess-

ment law and practice and some of the factors that have been identied

as contributing to this state of aairs. Having set the stage, we then

consider the specic provisions contained in the Act with respect to

science and Indigenous knowledge. Regarding science, much was said

by the Liberal government— supported by their appointed Expert Panel

for the Review of Environmental Assessment Processes (Expert Panel),

which led to the IAA’s focus on the need for increased transparency

and scientic rigour.2 Although the IAA does reect important gains on

this front, including a new duty of scientic integrity, these alone are

1 SC 2019, c 28, s 1.

2 Expert Panel for the Review of Environmental Assessment Processes, Building Common

Ground: A New Vision for Impact Assessment in Canada (Ottawa: Canadian Environ-

mental Assessment Agency, 2017), online (pdf): Government of Canada www.canada.ca/

content/dam/themes/environment/conservation/environmental-reviews/building-

common-ground/building-common-ground.pdf [Building Common Ground].

Science and Indigenous Knowledge as the Evidentiary Basis for Impact Assessment | 467

unlikely to yield the transformative change envisioned by the Expert

Panel. Many observers anticipated these changes, seeing them as key

to improving condence in decision making regarding development

projects. The improvements with respect to Indigenous knowledge are

more signicant but similarly do not address all of the impediments to

its meaningful use in impact assessment. We end by considering some

of the steps that must be taken to improve the application of science and

Indigenous knowledge under the IAA to best ensure a strong evidentiary

basis for decision making.

B. SCIENCE AND INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE IN IMPACT

ASSESSMENT

1) The Roles of Science and Indigenous Knowledge

Broadly speaking, scientic information and Indigenous knowledge are

critical foundations for any impact assessment, and deciencies in their

collection (e.g., baseline data) or creation (e.g., impact predictions) can

have profound and cascading consequences throughout all four phases

of assessment (planning, assessment, decision making, and monitor-

ing). Science and scientic information in this context are more inclu-

sive than those found in the natural sciences. Rather, they should be

understood as “the body of knowledge resulting from experiments,

systematic observations, statistical data collection and analysis, theory

and modeling, and including information from a range of elds in the

physical and biological sciences, social sciences, health sciences and

engineering.”3 This broader denition is in line with the IAA’s expanded

breadth, including not only biophysical but also social, health, and eco-

nomic impacts.4 The core scientic task of impact assessment has been

3 We have borrowed this denition from the Scientic Integrity Project at the University

of British Columbia, “Statement of Principles for Sound Decision-Making in Canada,”

online (pdf): www.zoology.ubc.ca/~otto/SIP2015/documents/SIP_Statement_of_

Principles.pdf. See also the denition adopted by the United Kingdom’s Science Coun-

cil: “Science is the pursuit and application of knowledge and understanding of the

natural and social world following a systematic methodology based on evidence.” See

“Our Denition of Science,” online: https://sciencecouncil.org/about-science/our-

denition-of-science.

4 IAA, above note 1, s 2.