Impact assessments
An impact assessment is a process for identifying, predicting and evaluating the environmental, health, social and economic impacts of development proposals before allowing them to proceed.
Find out more about impact assessments
Explore the role our department plays in providing scientific and technical expertise to support the various federal assessment processes in Canada:
- Project, Regional and Strategic Assessments
- Assessments on Federal Lands
- Strategic Environmental and Economic Assessments
Our role in Project, Regional and Strategic Assessments
As a leader in the fields of earth sciences, energy, forests, and minerals and metals, NRCan is required by federal assessment legislation to contribute its expertise to inform project, regional and strategic assessments across the country.
Impact assessments help the Government of Canada make informed decisions about proposed development projects – like certain mines, roads or dams – by considering potential impacts under federal jurisdiction (e.g. migratory birds, fish and fish habitat).
Regional assessments consider the combined, or cumulative, effects of multiple projects and activities – past, present and future – in an assigned geographic area.
Strategic assessments provide an assessment of federal plans, policies and programs related to impact assessment and provide an opportunity to identify and address broader issues related to impact assessment.
Did you know?
Project information and documents related to the federal assessments for projects across Canada are available to the public at the various registries.
Providing scientific and technical expertise
Our department has a broad and extensive mandate that allows us to contribute significantly to the federal assessment process. Our experts frequently provide advice on:
Explore more of the scientific expertise in our department
Determining economic and socio-economic effects on Canadians
In addition to scientific expertise, the department conducts analyses on project proposals for major development projects (for energy, mining, etc.) to determine how they affect Canadians from an economic and socio-economic perspective. Impacts on employment, local businesses, and regional and national economic activity are considered to help determine whether a project is deemed to be in the public interest.
Regulatory role of the department
NRCan has regulatory responsibilities under the Explosives Act for the licensing of explosives factories and magazines. In particular, the department issues licenses that authorize the storage and manufacturing of explosives while ensuring that these activities adhere to the regulations.
During an impact assessment for a project where explosives manufacturing may be required, NRCan will review assessment documents to ensure that the project components and activities will comply with the safety and security requirements of the Explosives Act and regulations.
Due to its regulatory role under the Act, NRCan is also a responsible authority for most of the northern project environmental assessments.
As part of issuing the licenses for the storage and manufacturing of explosives, NRCan is responsible for fulfilling the Government of Canada’s consultation obligations under Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 in relation to the issuance of these licenses.
Our role in assessments for projects in northern Canada
The Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon all have separate legislation that applies to the assessment process for projects in these regions. The assessment processes share similarities with one another and with the federal legislation that applies in the rest of Canada.
NRCan contributes the same scientific advice and technical expertise to support the assessment in northern regions as it does for the rest of Canada.
Find out more about environmental assessments in Canada’s North.
Our role in evaluating environmental effects on federal lands
Under the Impact Assessment Act, our department is required to evaluate the environmental effects of development projects that NRCan enables on federal lands, either by funding the project or where NRCan is the project proponent. Federal lands refer to any lands owned or administered by the federal Crown, including some inland and coastal waters, and First Nation reserve lands subject to the Indian Act.
NRCan must ensure that any project involving physical activities (construction, demolition, site clearing, etc.) and/or related to physical works (buildings, infrastructure, etc.) that is enabled by NRCan on federal lands is assessed to minimize or eliminate environmental impacts.
Find out more about Federal Lands processes
Our role in strategic environmental and economic assessments
The new Canadian Directive on Strategic Environmental and Economic Assessment (SEEA), which took effect on April 1, 2024, is a comprehensive process for evaluating the impacts of a proposed federal policy, plan, program, or funding proposal.
The directive supports federal government decision-making by highlighting the economic and environmental impacts of federal proposals in a clear, consistent and comparable way. This provides the timely and high-quality information necessary to support the federal government in achieving its goals in a variety of areas, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions, adapting to climate change, protecting biodiversity and promoting economic growth.
To apply the SEEA requirements, NRCan adapts and applies the Climate, Nature and Economy Lens (CNEL), which helps to outline the positive and negative effects of each NRCan proposal.
Public statements
NRCan is required by the Cabinet Directive to prepare a public statement when a proposal has been announced or implemented. The purpose is to demonstrate that environmental and economic considerations have been integrated into the decision-making process. Departments determine the content and extent of the public statement according to the circumstances of each SEEA.
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