Five Things Project Proponents Need to Know About Canada's New Impact Assessment Act

  • September 23, 2019
  • Rodney Northey, Liane Langstaff, Anna Côté, lawyers at Gowling WLG

Effective August 28, 2019, the Impact Assessment Act (IAA) will set aside the past 40 years of federal environmental assessment in Canada. Impact assessment will replace environmental assessment. Similarly, federal decisions on whether or not to approve designated infrastructure, energy and mining projects will be made after assessing the overall "public interest" of the project, replacing the existing test of avoiding "significant adverse environmental effects."

Implementation of the IAA remains controversial. It follows more than 18 months of heated debate inside and outside Parliament and the Senate.

Stepping back from specific controversies, here are five things all project proponents (and other participants) need to know about the IAA as they address its new requirements and processes.