Title: Health and Environmental Impact Assessment Law and Policy in Canada
1Health and Environmental Impact Assessment Law
and Policy in Canada
- Facultad de Derecho
- Universidad Nacional del Nordeste
- Corrientes, 25 de noviembre del 2005
- Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger, MEM (Yale), LLB,
BCL (McGill), BA Hons (Carl) - Director, Centre for International Sustainable
Development Law - Chevening Scholar, Oxford University Faculty of
Law
2Health and Environmental Impact Assessment Law
and Policy in Canada
- Presentation Overview
- 1. Canadian EIA Law Structure Scope
- a. Federal Provincial EIA Law
- 2. The Role of Health Considerations in Canadian
EIA Law - a. Overview of Federal and Provincial
Legislation - b. The Canadian Environmental Assessment Act
- c. The Quebec Environmental Quality Act
- d. The British Columbia Environmental Assessment
Act - e. The Oldman River Dam Case
- 3. The Impact of EIA Legislation on Trade
Liberalization - a. Strategic Environmental Assessment
- b. SEAs and Trade Negotiations
- 4. Case Studies
3Health and Environmental Impact Assessment Law
and Policy in Canada
- 1
- Canadian EIA Law
- Structure Scope
4Health and Environmental Impact Assessment Law
and Policy in Canada
- 1. Canadian EIA Law Structure Scope
- a. Federal Provincial EIA Law
- Federal Legislation
- Environmental Assessment and Review Process
Guidelines Order, 1984 (EARPGO) - Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 1992
(CEAA) - Jurisdiction
- Jurisdiction over the environment is shared
between the provinces and the federal government.
- The CEAA only applies when the federal government
is a decision-maker - i.e. when the federal
government is a proponent, land administrator,
source of funding, or regulator.
5Health and Environmental Impact Assessment Law
and Policy in Canada
- 1. Canadian EIA Law Structure Scope
- a. Federal Provincial EIA Law
- Process
- Describe the project in detail.
- Evaluate the negative environmental effects.
- Determine ways to eliminate or reduce the
negative effects on the environment. - Find the best solution possible for the public,
the environment and industry. - What Is a Project?
- An activity in relation to a physical work.
- An activity not related to a physical work which
is described in the Inclusion List Regulations. - Exempt Projects
- A project may be exempt if it is likely to have
insignificant environmental effects is to be
carried out in response to a national emergency
is to be carried out in response to an emergency
and the project is in the interest of preventing
damage to property or the environment or is in
the interest of public health or safety.
Source Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency,
online lthttp//www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca/gt
6Health and Environmental Impact Assessment Law
and Policy in Canada
- 1. Canadian EIA Law Structure Scope
- a. Federal Provincial EIA Law
- Examples of Projects Covered by the Inclusion
List Regulations - National Parks Protected Areas
- Oil Gas Projects
- Nuclear Related Facilities
- Defense
- Transportation
- Waste Management
- Fisheries
- Flora Fauna
- Projects on Aboriginal Lands
- Northern Projects
- Forests
Source Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency,
online lthttp//www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca/gt
7Health and Environmental Impact Assessment Law
and Policy in Canada
- 2
- The Role of Health Considerations in
- Canadian EIA Law
8Health and Environmental Impact Assessment Law
and Policy in Canada
- 2. The Role of Health Considerations in Canadian
EIA Law - a. Overview of Legislation
Requirements for Including Health in Selected
Canadian EA Legislation
Source Health Impact Assessment Task Force,
Canadian Handbook on Health Impact Assessment
(2004), online lthttp//www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/p
ubs/eval/handbook-guide/vol_1/acknow-remer_e.htmlgt
9Health and Environmental Impact Assessment Law
and Policy in Canada
- 2. The Role of Health Considerations in Canadian
EIA Law - b. Canadian Environmental Assessment Act
- The inclusion of health considerations in the
CEAA - "environmental effect" means, in respect of a
project, - (a) any change that the project may cause in the
environment, including any change it may cause to
a listed wildlife species, its critical habitat
or the residences of individuals of that species,
as those terms are defined in subsection 2(1) of
the Species at Risk Act, - (b) any effect of any change referred to in
paragraph (a) on - (i) health and socio-economic conditions
- Criticism of the CEAA
- The health component of environmental assessment
focuses primarily on potential effects of
projects on physical health,such as increased
risks of mortality, morbidity and injuries.There
is increasing interest in incorporating other
aspects of health within the scope of EA,
including the social, community and psychological
dimensions of health and well-being.
Source Environmental Assessment and Human
Health Perspectives, Approaches, and Future
Directions - A Background Report for the
International Study of the Effectiveness of
Environmental Assessment (1997), online
lthttp//www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/pubs/eval/health-
perspective-sante/index_e.htmlgt
10Health and Environmental Impact Assessment Law
and Policy in Canada
- 2. The Role of Health Considerations in Canadian
EIA Law - c. Quebec Environmental Quality Act
- Emissions Discharges
- Section 20 of the Quebec Environmental Quality
Act states that nothing may be emitted or
discharged into the environment that is likely
to affect the life, health, safety, welfare or
comfort of human beings, or to cause damage to or
otherwise impair the quality of the soil,
vegetation, wildlife or property. - Recent Developments the proposed amendment to
the Quebec Charter of Rights and Freedoms to
include the right to live in a healthy
environment.
11Health and Environmental Impact Assessment Law
and Policy in Canada
- 2. The Role of Health Considerations in Canadian
EIA Law - d. British Columbia Environmental Assessment
Act - Environmental Effects
- The BC Environmental Assessment Act incorporates
health considerations into environmental
assessment primarily by defining environmental
effects as including health effects. - British Columbia, along with Quebec, was one of
the first provinces to include health
considerations in its environmental assessment
legislation. - The definition of environmental effects as
including anything other than the physical
environment has been a controversial issue in
Canada. This was an issue addressed by the Oldman
River Dam Case in 1992.
12Health and Environmental Impact Assessment Law
and Policy in Canada
- 2. The Role of Health Considerations in Canadian
EIA Law - e. Practice
- Oldman River Dam Case (1992)
- Issue Is EARPGO ultra vires the power of the
Department of Environment Act because is requires
the consideration of matters other than the
physical environment? - - Justice La Forest EARPGO, which requires
the decision maker to take socio-economic
considerations into account in the environmental
impact assessment, does not go beyond what is
authorized by the Department of the Environment
Act. The concept of "environmental quality" in s.
6 of the Act is not confined to the biophysical
environment alone. The environment is a
diffuse subject matter and, subject to the
constitutional imperatives, the potential
consequences for a community's livelihood,
health and other social matters from
environmental change, are integral to decision
making on matters affecting environmental quality.
13Health and Environmental Impact Assessment Law
and Policy in Canada
- 3
- The Impact of EIA Legislation on
- Trade Liberalization
14Health and Environmental Impact Assessment Law
and Policy in Canada
- 3. The Impact of EIA Legislation on Trade
Liberalization - a. Strategic Environmental Assessment
- 1999 Cabinet Directive on the Environmental
Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals - Quasi-law
- Calls for strategic environmental assessments
(SEA) to be conducted for any policy, plan, or
program proposal that is submitted to a Minister
or to Cabinet for approval and that is likely to
have important environmental effects, positive or
negative. - Increased transparency As of January 1, 2004
departments and agencies are now required to
prepare a public statement of environmental
effects when a detailed assessment of
environmental effects has been conducted through
an SEA. - SEA Process
- Identify the economic effects of the negotiation
in Canada - Identify the likely environmental impacts in
Canada of such changes - Assess the significance of the likely
environmental impacts and - Identify enhancement/mitigation options to
inform the negotiation process.
15Health and Environmental Impact Assessment Law
and Policy in Canada
- 3. The Impact of EIA Legislation on Trade
Liberalization - b. SEAs and Trade Negotiations
- Example of Recent SEAs performed under the
Directive - Initial Strategic Environmental Assessment
Report of the Free Trade Area of the Americas
Negotiations - - "The analysis performed for this Initial EA
suggests that, in the aggregate, any effects that
the FTAA negotiations may have on the Canadian
environment are likely to be minimal due to one
or a combination of the following reasons (1)
further trade liberalisation affects only a small
proportion of Canada's trade (the bulk already
being subject to NAFTA and other regional free
trade agreements) (2) federal and provincial
environmental legislation that can mitigate
negative effects is, or will soon be, in place
(3) some negotiations seek to create a
rules-based trading system, which will facilitate
trade by creating a consistent international
framework in which to conduct trade, but may not
directly translate into increased production or
trade."
16Health and Environmental Impact Assessment Law
and Policy in Canada
17Health and Environmental Impact Assessment Law
and Policy in Canada
- 4. Case Studies
- a. The North West Territories Diamond Project
- Description
- In December 1994, a federal environmental
assessment panel was appointed to review the
environmental and socio-economic effects of the
NWT Diamonds Project proposed by BHP Diamonds
Inc. and the Blackwater Group. The proposal would
involve open-pit and underground mining of five
diamond-bearing deposits located about 300 km
northeast of Yellowknife near Lac de Gras. - Outcome of the Environmental Assessment
- The project was approved subject to a lengthy
list of recommendations to mitigate the possible
environmental and socio-economic effects of the
mines. These recommendations included - Aboriginal land claims settlements.
- Impact and benefits sharing agreements.
- Monitoring and compensation for adverse effects
on water quality and health.
18Health and Environmental Impact Assessment Law
and Policy in Canada
- 4. Case Studies
- b. Trans Quebec Maritimes Pipeline Extension
Project - Description
- In 1998 Gazoduc Trans Quebec Maritimes Inc.
(TQM) submitted a proposal to extend its natural
gas pipeline from Lachenaie to the Quebec-New
Hampshire border near East Hereford in order to
consolidate Gaz Métropolitain's network and to
meet the supply requirements of the Portland
Natural Gas Transmission System (PNGTS). The
pipeline, which is approximately 213 km long,
would cross the river at Île aux Fermiers, the
property of the Canadian Wildlife Service. - Outcome of the Environmental Assessment
- This was the first major project where the
proponent was asked to conduct an inventory of
nesting avifauna. The consultant used the Guide
pour l'évaluation des impacts sur les oiseaux to
develop a sampling strategy which was later
submitted for the Canadian Environmental
Assessment Agencys approval. The proponent
agreed to the recommended changes of its sampling
protocol and developed an inventory by transects.
The results showed that no rare, vulnerable or
endangered species were breeding along the chosen
route.
19