To promote full and meaningful application of a results-oriented federal environmental assessment framework.
Strengthen federal governance and decision making to support sustainable development:
| Expected Results 2008-2009 |
Supporting Performance Measure(s) |
Achieved SDS Departmental Results for 2008-2009 |
| The government is better informed and equipped to address policy and regional-scale sustainable development issues. |
Improved understanding of how the various components of an effective and efficient environmental assessment framework should work together, and of the strengths and weaknesses of the current framework in supporting integrated decision making. |
Advancing the science and practice of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) and regional-scale environmental assessment (REA)
- The Agency supported the work of the Minister's Regulatory Advisory Committee (RAC) Subcommittee on SEA as it completed its mandate to define the broader context for SEA, explore meaningful linkages between strategic and project-level EA, and examine the role of the public and Aboriginal groups in SEA.
- The Agency continued to support research projects aimed at advancing the science and practice of SEA and REA. These include Atikamekw Nation Territorial Planning: The Role of Strategic Environmental Assessment in Sustainable and Adaptive Joint Management of Forest Area and Extending Models and Practice of Strategic Environmental Assessment in the
Regional Municipality of York, Ontario, Canada. Final reports for both projects are expected in 2009.
- The Agency continued to participate in work undertaken through the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment to promote and advance a Canada-wide understanding of regional strategic environmental assessment.
- The Agency undertook a coordinating lead role, including financial support, to develop a framework for an REA in the Beaufort Basin and worked with other partners to explore the potential for REA offshore in Nova Scotia.
- The Agency invested in a review of existing SEA tools and best practices and the development of an SEA toolbox to strengthen the methodological basis for the practice of SEA at the federal level.
- The Agency developed a geographic information system to assist in identifying environmental and policy variables in environmental assessment. This tool has the potential to support analysis of development impacts on a regional scale.
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| There is improved cooperation and collaboration between federal departments and agencies and with other jurisdictions, which results in high-quality environmental assessments delivered through a timely, predictable process. |
A more timely, coordinated, and consistent approach to the environmental assessment process of major projects is applied. |
Promoting and ensuring the implementation of initiatives that improve the coordination among stakeholders in federal project environmental assessments
- The Agency continued to define and implement its new roles for managing the environmental assessments and coordinating Crown consultations for major projects under the 2007 Cabinet Directive on Improving the Performance of the Regulatory System for Major Resource Projects and its Memorandum of Understanding.
- The Agency continued to chair and support the work of the Environmental Assessment Project Committee (EAPC), which aims to facilitate a whole-of-government approach to the preparation of high-quality environmental assessments in a timely, certain and predictable manner.
Gaining a greater understanding of the effectiveness of the Agency and its supporting legislative and policy tools in achieving coordination among stakeholders
- The Agency implemented, on a pilot basis, Learning Logs for environmental assessments for which the Agency is the Federal Environmental Assessment Coordinator (FEAC) or Project Manager. Learning Logs document the environmental outcomes and project design changes that occur as a result of the federal environmental assessment process.
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| Decisions are better informed through effective engagement of the public, including Aboriginal peoples, in the environmental assessment process. |
Improved knowledge across government of how to engage the public, including Aboriginal peoples, in high-quality environmental assessments. |
Building knowledge and capacity internally and throughout the federal government in the area of public and Aboriginal peoples engagement in environmental assessment
- The Agency participated in an initiative with the Chiefs of Ontario to develop an Environmental Assessment Toolkit for member communities. The toolkit was designed to assist Ontario First Nations in understanding environmental assessment as it is practiced by their own communities and to facilitate their participation in the environmental assessment of projects
that may affect them.
- The Agency actively participated in a senior-level interdepartmental policy working group tasked with developing a national action plan for the federal government on the legal duty to consult with Aboriginal groups. The Agency's participation in this initiative helps to ensure that the federal government's duty to consult is appropriately fulfilled in relation
to federal environmental assessment.
- The Agency continued to support research projects aimed at providing a new understanding and approaches for the meaningful involvement of Aboriginal groups in environmental assessment. These include Atikamekw Nation Territorial Planning: The Role of Strategic Environmental Assessment in Sustainable and Adaptive Joint Management of Forest Area and
Effective Engagement of Aboriginal Peoples in Environmental Assessment: A Case Study of Treaty 8 Nations. Final reports for these projects are expected in 2009 and 2010, respectively.
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| Improved understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of self-assessment processes. |
Regular and consistent training in sustainable development tools for planners and analysts across government. |
Collaborating with other federal departments and agencies to increase awareness and application of the principles of sustainable development and sustainable development tools
- The Agency participated in interdepartmental efforts to develop a federal sustainable development strategy in accordance with the recently proclaimed Federal Sustainable Development Act, supporting linkages between SEA and sustainable development.
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| Identification of areas requiring improvement in the application of the Cabinet Directive and the Act. |
Evaluating the effectiveness of the SEA and project EA processes
- The Agency began work leading a government-wide evaluation of the Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals. The evaluation will assess the contribution of SEA to balanced decision making in support of sustainable development, with a final report expected in June 2009.
- The Agency provided coordinated input to the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, who commenced a performance audit of the application of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. The Commissioner's final report is expected in November 2009.
- The Agency's quality assurance unit has been working to identify and to analyze aspects of the current environmental assessment process that are most likely to lead to favourable environmental outcomes. This work included case studies of five environmental assessments in Ontario, follow-up on public participation in screenings and an assessment of the first
year of implementation of the Interim Approach to Scoping.
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| The Agency has the knowledge necessary to make informed decisions regarding the future of the federal environmental assessment framework. |
Identification of opportunities to better integrate the project review process across jurisdictions. |
Examining how the Agency can move toward better integration of the project review process at the national level
- The Agency continued to work with other jurisdictions through the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment to identify opportunities to improve the coordination of assessments for projects subject to both federal and provincial environmental assessment.
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| Themes of R&D reflect issues and needs addressed in the Agency's sustainable development strategies. |
Ensuring that the research areas promoted and encouraged by the Agency are consistent with, and supportive of, the goals and objectives set out in the Agency's sustainable development strategies
- The Agency has used the sustainable development strategy to guide the selection of research priorities for its Research and Development Program. Specifically, these priorities have included:
- Climate Change
- Adaptive Management
- Small Projects
- Strategic Environmental Assessment
- Meaningful Involvement
- Follow-Up
- Determining the Significance of Environmental Effects
- Human Impact Assessment
- Integrating Climate Change Considerations into EA
- Regional Environmental Effects Framework
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