Public statements for Strategic Environmental and Economic Assessment
Information on Strategic Environmental and Economic Assessment and its corresponding public statements are now found under Natural Resources Canada's Transparency webpage.
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.
On this page
- Project, regional and strategic assessments
- Assessments for projects on federal lands
- Assessments for projects in northern Canada
- Scientific and technical expertise
- Related information
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.
Project impact assessments
Project 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 (for example, migratory birds, fish and fish habitat).
Regional assessments
Regional assessments consider the combined, or cumulative, effects of multiple projects and activities – past, present and future – in an assigned geographic area.
Strategic assessments
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.
Project information and documents related to federal assessments for projects across Canada are publicly available at the following registries:
Assessments for projects 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
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
Scientific and technical expertise
NRCan has a broad and extensive mandate that allows us to contribute significantly to the federal impact assessment process. Our experts frequently provide advice on:
- Natural hazards on land and on the ocean floor including earthquakes, landslides and flooding
- Marine and coastal geoscience
- Groundwater and aquifers
- Geochemistry including acid rock drainage and metal leaching
- Forest ecology, biodiversity and management
- Pipeline integrity and the fate and behavior of heavy oil
Determining economic and socio-economic effects on Canadians
In addition to scientific expertise, NRCan 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.