Annex for Integrated Impact Assessments
Between
the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada
– and –
the Canadian Energy Regulator

Annex 4 — Project Team and Panel Secretariat for Integrated Impact Assessments

General

This Annex is governed by the understandings as described in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (the Agency) and the Canadian Energy Regulator (CER). Pursuant to the MOU and under the terms of this Annex, the Agency and the CER (each a “party” or jointly “the parties”) agree to respect this Annex. This Annex is intended to be read in conjunction with the MOU.

Purpose

This Annex sets out how the Agency and the CER will establish and identify roles and responsibilities of a panel secretariat for impact assessments of projects subject to the IAA that also include physical activities that are regulated under the CERA. For the purposes of this Annex, these designated projects will be referenced as ‘integrated impact assessments’.

This Annex sets out how the CER will provide support through:

• a project team, to provide support for the conduct of the integrated impact assessment prior to the appointment of an integrated review panel; and
• a secretariat, to provide support to the integrated review panel following its appointment.

Scope

This Annex applies to integrated impact assessments. The roles and responsibilities of the Agency and the CER relating to integrated impact assessments are in accordance with the IAA and the CERA, as relevant.

The roles and responsibilities of the Agency and CER may also be defined in either:

• project-specific Terms of Reference for the integrated impact assessment; or
• for joint impact assessments with other jurisdictions, a project-specific Joint Panel Review Agreement.

Project Team

A project team will be formed during the Planning phase, consisting of professional, scientific, technical or other Agency and CER personnel necessary for the purposes of conducting activities for the integrated impact assessment during this phase.

Secretariat

A secretariat will be formed consisting of professional, scientific, technical or other Agency and CER personnel necessary for the purpose of providing support to an integrated review panel. It is anticipated that the members of the project team will become part of the secretariat, once the integrated review panel is appointed. The CER hearing manager and the Agency panel manager (or their respective designates) will act as co-managers to the secretariat.

Subject to the direction of the integrated review panel, the secretariat’s advisory and administrative responsibilities may include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. (1) coordinating logistical arrangements for the integrated review panel, including court reporting services for the production of transcripts, simultaneous interpretation, travel arrangements, venue rentals, scheduling of oral presentations, drafting agendas, preparing public announcements;
2. (2) communication with participants, including the proponent, government departments, media and the public;
3. (3) carrying out scientific and technical review of information filed on the record;
4. (4) providing information or advice to the review panel orally and in writing during the impact assessment process;
5. (5) providing procedural and process-related advice to the integrated review panel;
6. (6) maintaining the project file and the internet site component of the Canadian Impact Assessment Registry Internet Site (the Registry), which would link to the CER’s registry (REGDOCs) as applicable, during the course of the panel review in a manner that provides for convenient public access. These responsibilities would be in compliance with Sections 104 and 105 of the IAA; and
7. (7) acting as recording secretaries and assisting with the drafting of records of decision as directed by the review panel members.

Any support and technical advice provided by the secretariat to the integrated review panel will be protected by the deliberative privilege of the review panel and will not be considered to be on the record of the review. This includes CER staff who form part of the secretariat and who provide technical support to the panel.

The Agency will provide the following support to the panel secretariat:

• a panel manager;
• panel analysts;
• a communications advisor;
• a registry coordinator;
• external counsel retained by the Agency on behalf of the panel; and
• any other administrative or logistical support as requested by the panel.

The CER’s support to the panel secretariat will include, but not be limited to:

• a CER Hearing Manager;
• technical specialists in environment, socio-economics, rights and interests, engineering, safety, financial/economics, markets/supply, and emergency management;
• an operations project manager;
• CER in-house legal counsel; and
• any other administrative or logistical support as requested by the panel.

Points of Contact

The CER and the Agency will each identify a point of contact to coordinate the establishment and maintenance of the secretariat. These representatives will ensure coordination and communication from both organizations to ensure timely support to integrated review panels.

The CER point of contact is the hearing manager or his/her delegate. The Agency’s point of contact is the director, review panels division or, once the panel is established, the panel manager. Each participant will ensure that up-to-date contact information for the representatives is made available to each other.