While the proposed
Impact Assessment Act (the
"IAA") in Bill C-69 is under review and
possible amendment by the Senate, the federal government is seeking
public comments this month on a new Discussion Paper on the
proposed Project List regulation. The Project List sets out
criteria that, if met, make a project subject to the federal
assessment process. This post discusses some of the key proposed
changes to the criteria.
For background on the IAA, which is proposed to replace the
Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012,
("CEAA 2012"), see our
previous posts.
The Discussion Paper identifies the types of projects that may
be subject to a federal impact assessment. It outlines an approach
that takes into consideration federal areas of jurisdiction related
to the environment, as well as project types that are subject to
regulation by a federal lifecycle regulator, and proposes criteria
for reviewable projects in the following categories:
