The Evolution of Canadian Environmental Assessment Practice and Literature

• Author: Meinha rd Doelle and A John Sinclair
• Pages: 11-31

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 1

The Evolution of Canadian Environmental

Assessment Practice and Literature

Meinhard Doelle and A John Sinclair

A. INTRODUCTION

Environmental assessment (EA) processes have been an important

tool in the governance toolbox in Canada for over forty years. EAs are

intended to inform decisions about whether and under what conditions

to permit proposed new endeavours.1 At the federal level in Canada, the

assessment process has gone through a number of transitions, from

voluntary to binding, and then through several legislative eorts, in

the form of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA 1995),2 the

Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 (CEAA 2012),3 and the Impact

Assessment Act (IAA) of 2019.4

Although the focus of this book is on the IAA, it is important to

note that in Canada, practitioners, decision makers, and academics

have been very active since the late 1970s in the eld of federal EAs.

They have greatly contributed to our understanding of the uncertain-

ties inherent in achieving a more sustainable society and the role of

assessment in that shi. The early work of institutions such as the

1 Barry Sadler, International Study of the Eectiveness of Environmental Assessment (Ottawa:

Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, 1996); see also Christopher Wood,

Environmental Impact Assessment: A Comparative Perspective (Essex, UK: Longman, 1995).

2 SC 1992, c 37. The entry into force of the Act was delayed until 1995 to allow for key

regulations to be developed and passed.

3 SC 2012, c 19, s 52.

4 SC 2019, c 28, s 1.

      12

Canadian Environmental Assessment Research Council set the stage for

Canadians to contribute to virtually every aspect of assessment design.

We capture some of this history below, showing how it underpins the

evolution of assessment at the federal level up to today. This journey of

EA in Canada is referenced in the chapters that follow. For a more com-

plete history of the federal assessment process, the reader is directed to

other volumes, such as Hazell (1999) and Doelle (2008).5

B. A BRIEF HISTORY OF FEDERAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT

IN CANADA

In tracing the history of the federal EA process in Canada, it is useful

to consider some of the milestones in the evolution of the process, as

well as how the focus and purpose of EA have shied over time. Four

stages in the evolution, as identied by Gibson and Hanna, provide a

useful road map to the evolution of the federal EA process. They include

the following:

• Stage 1. This stage involves assessments that focused on pollution

control solutions to locally signicant adverse environmental

impacts, generally in the form of releases of pollutants into air,

water, or soil.

• Stage 2. In this stage, the focus shis to more proactive eorts

to identify and mitigate possible environmental impacts of pro-

posed activities. It remains a technical process, with little public

participation and no consideration of socio-economic factors.

• Stage 3. In the third stage, EA processes seek to integrate environ-

mental considerations into broader planning decisions but still

in the context of individual activities proposed. This involves

consideration of a full range of factors that aect whether a pro-

posed activity should proceed, including environmental, cultural,

historical, and economic impacts. This stage involves consider-

ation of the need for the proposed activity and alternatives and

requires active public engagement to be eective.

5 Stephen Hazell, Canada v. the Environment: Federal Environmental Assessment 1984–1998

(Toronto: Canadian Environmental Defence Fund, 1999); Meinhard Doelle, The Federal

Environmental Assessment Process: A Guide and Critique (Markham, ON: LexisNexis

Canada, 2008).