What is the impact assessment act
It is a planning and decision-making tool used to assess:
- Positive and negative environmental, economic, health, and social effects of proposed projects
- Impacts to Indigenous groups and rights of Indigenous peoples
The Impact Assessment Act outlines a process for assessing the impacts of major projects and projects carried out on federal lands or outside of Canada. The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada is responsible for conducting impact assessments under the Impact Assessment Act.
The purposes of the impact assessment act are:
- To foster sustainability, ensure respect of Government’s commitments with respect to the rights of Indigenous peoples
- To include environmental, social, health and economic factors within the scope of assessments
- To establish a fair, predictable and efficient impact assessment process that enhances Canada’s competitiveness and promotes innovation
- To consider positive and adverse effects
- To include early, inclusive and meaningful public engagement
- To promote nation-to-nation, Inuit-Crown, and government-to-government partnerships with Indigenous peoples
- To ensure decisions are based on science, Indigenous knowledge and other sources of evidence
- To assess cumulative effects within a region
More details regarding the Impact Assessment Act can be found here: https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/iaac-acei/documents/mandate/president-transition-book-2019/overview-impact-assessment-act.pdf
The act itself can be found on the Canadian Government Justice Laws Website, located here.