Grey-zone projects subject to a federal assessment on Cree territory

Grey-zone projects, projects that are not mentioned in Annex 1 or Annex 2 of Section 22 of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, must go through a federal assessment.

Federal assessment and review process

Assessment process

1. The proponent must submit the preliminary information to the Federal Administrator, as specified in the Guide for proponents (Section 22).

2. The Federal Administrator forwards the preliminary information to the evaluating committee (COMEV).

3. COMEV determines whether the project is likely to cause impacts on the Crees or on their territory’s wildlife resources. It then recommends to the Federal Administrator whether a review is necessary. It may request additional information from the proponent, as needed.

4. If COMEV recommends conducting a review, it prepares a directive on the scope of the impact assessment. Public consultations may happen at this point.

1. If the Federal Administrator decides not to subject the project to a federal review process, they notify the proponent and the process ends.
2. If the Federal Administrator decides to subject the project to a federal review process, they send the decision to the proponent with the directive prepared by COMEV.

Review process

5. The proponent prepares the impact statement report in accordance with the directive.

6. The proponent submits its impact statement report to the Federal Administrator.

7. The Federal Administrator forwards the impact statement report to the Federal Review Panel South (FRP-South, commonly referred to as COFEX-South) and specifies the mandate they entrust in it. COFEX-South then sends a copy to the Cree Nation Government.

8. COFEX-South verifies the compliance of the impact statement report with the directive. It may request additional information from the proponent, as needed. Public consultations may happen at this point. COFEX-South reviews the report, the public consultations and any other relevant documents. Finally, it recommends whether or not the Federal Administrator should authorize the project and on what conditions.

9. Based on the recommendation, the Federal Administrator decides whether or not to authorize the project and determines the conditions, including the environmental and social monitoring and follow-up measures.

10. The Federal Administrator informs the proponent of the decision. If the project is authorized, the proponent must comply with the conditions, including the monitoring and follow-up measures. If the project is refused, the proponent must not go ahead with its project.