Summary of the Meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee on Science and Knowledge
February 17 and 18, 2021
Virtual Meeting
Meeting Objective
The main objective of the February 17-18 meeting was to hear from TAC sub-committees about their work and give time for other members to provide input on the advice being developed.
Day 1
Agenda Item: Opening Remarks & Agency Update
- The TAC co-chairs provided opening remarks.
- The Agency's ex-officio member provided a territorial acknowledgement for the land on which the Agency representatives were located.
Agenda Item: Sub-committee on Cumulative Effects Presentation
- The sub-committee champions provided an update on their work to date, including work on a list of principles and their review of the draft research on positive effects being conducted by a contractor. They sought input from TAC members on process aspects of creating, enhancing, and assessing positive effects, as well as on adaptive management. Additionally, they sought input on timing the consideration of positive effects in the impact assessment process, roles and responsibilities within that process, and implications for regional assessments.
- TAC members discussed how best to engage the public in the process, possibilities for guidance on considering positive effects, leveraging the early planning phase of the assessment process, and the importance of clear roles and strong governance. They also considered the societal value of positive biophysical effects.
Agenda Item: Sub-committee Cumulative Effects Presentation
- The sub-committee champions provided an update on their work to date. This included reviewing and clarifying input previously provided by TAC members and sub-committee members in the areas of defining baselines, positive cumulative effects, and scoping.
- TAC members discussed the way in which cumulative effects assessment is conducted by practitioners, using pre-contact information in establishing baselines, and criteria for establishing baselines. They also examined the role that cumulative effects assessment can play in decision-making and the public-interest determination, as well as nuances around accurately identifying positive cumulative effects.
Day 2
Agenda Item: Sub-committee on Health, Social, and Economic Effects Presentation
- The sub-committee champions took the opportunity to seek input from the broader TAC on a few topics of note. These included how positive health and social impacts should be considered under the Impact Assessment Act, the distribution of a project's economic effects, and jurisdictional considerations related to health, social and economic effects.
- TAC members noted the connection between positive health and economic impacts, the results of pre-existing lack of health services and infrastructure, and empowering decision-making in communities. They also discussed Impact Benefit Agreements enhancing economic effects, Gender-Based Analysis (+) considerations around the distribution of effects, economic effects varying by geographical location, and public understanding of federal-provincial jurisdiction in the area of health, social, and economic effects.
Agenda Item: Joint Sub-committee on Indigenous Knowledge and Science Presentation
- The sub-committee is composed of members from both the TAC and the Indigenous Advisory Committee. The co-champion from the TAC provided an update on the sub-committee's work to date, including the development of advice for proponents for bringing together Indigenous Knowledge and science during the early planning phase.
- Next steps include refining the draft advice and developing a presentation on this topic for the International Association for Impact Assessment conference in May 2021.
Agenda Item: Planning for March Meeting
- The focus of the meeting will be presentations of near final advice by the subcommittees and presentations by the contractors working on research papers supporting the TAC's subcommittees: positive effects, cumulative effects and health, social and economic effects.
- A future discussion will be held on areas of priority for TAC members.
Recap and Next Steps
- The TAC co-chairs summarized the takeaways from both days of the meetings.
Take Aways
- The sub-committees will continue to meet to advance their work.
- The sub-committees will present their draft advice at the March meeting.
- The research contractors will present their final draft work at the March meeting.
- The Agency will recirculate the existing list of priority areas in advance of a future discussion.
- The Agency will provide a chart that indicates the status of their responses to recent questions posed by the TAC.
Attendees
TAC Co-Chairs
- Kevin Hanna
- Darcy Pickard
TAC Committee Members
- Alistair MacDonald
- Bill Ross
- Gillian Donald
- Glennis Lewis
- Helga Shield
- Marie Lagimodiere
- Mark Shrimpton
- Meinhard Doelle
- Michel Bérubé
Regrets
- Colin Webster
Impact Assessment Agency of Canada
- Steve Chapman
- Brent Parker
- Miriam Padolsky
- Robyn Whittaker
- Aidan Wakely-Mulroney
- Joshua Boisvert
- Alana Green
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