2021–2022 Departmental Plan: Departmental Plan

Erratum:

Subsequent to the tabling in Parliament and online publication of IAAC’s 2021–22 Departmental Plan, it was determined that the document of record contained an error. The Human resources planning summary for core responsibilities and Internal Services table’s planned full time equivalents for 2023–24 are accurate but a mistake in the header labelled them as 2024–25 planned full-time equivalents. This has been corrected.

The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister Responsible for the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada

© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, 2021.

This publication may be reproduced for personal or internal use without permission, provided the source is fully acknowledged. However, multiple copy reproduction of this publication in whole or in part for purposes of redistribution requires the prior written permission from the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H3, or iaac.information.aeic@canada.ca.

Catalogue No.: En104-19E-PDF

ISSN: 2563-0016

This document has been issued in French under the title: Agence d’évaluation d’impact du Canada: Plan ministériel 2021-2022.

Table of contents

• From the Minister
• From the Institutional Head
• Plans at a glance
• Core responsibilities: planned results and resources, and key risks
  • Impact Assessment
• Internal Services: planned results
• Spending and human resources
  • Planned spending
  • Planned human resources
  • Estimates by vote
  • Future-oriented condensed statement of operations
• Corporate information
  • Organizational profile
  • Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do
  • Operating context
  • Reporting framework
• Supporting information on the program inventory
• Supplementary information tables
• Federal tax expenditures
• Organizational contact information
• Appendix: definitions
• Endnotes

From the Minister

From the Institutional Head

Plans at a glance

The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (the Agency) is a federal body reporting to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Under the Impact Assessment Act (IAA), the Agency is the lead federal organization responsible for conducting and administering environmental and impact assessments. The Agency is also the Crown coordinator for Indigenous consultation on designated projects. In leading these assessments, the Agency is responsible for assessing the positive and negative environmental, economic, social, health, and gender effects of designated projects.

An assessment (environmental or impact) is a planning and decision-making tool to assist project design, facilitate Indigenous, public and stakeholder participation, as well as to ensure appropriate measures are identified and implemented to mitigate adverse impacts of designated projects.

In 2021–22, the Agency will:

• deliver high-quality environmental and impact assessments—based on science, Indigenous knowledge, and other evidence—that promote positive effects and minimize adverse impacts through mitigation measures;
• ensure timely, credible, and predictable processes for environmental and impact assessments and for decision-making by continuing to implement the IAA and to develop related policies and guidance;
• contribute to an improved understanding and management of cumulative effects or issues by advancing the development of regional and strategic assessments in cooperation with other relevant jurisdictions and organizations;
• support the advancement of the Government of Canada’s commitment to reconciliation with Indigenous peoples;
• enhance opportunities and mechanisms for the meaningful participation of Indigenous peoples, the public, and stakeholders to participate throughout the assessment process;
• collaborate and coordinate with provincial and territorial governments, Indigenous jurisdictions, and other federal government departments and agencies; and
• strengthen internal capacity to provide effective and timely professional support in the delivery of the Agency’s priorities.

This report outlines the planned results and supporting activities to deliver the Agency’s core responsibility. To achieve these results, the Agency will continue to emphasize transparency, efficiency, and meaningful participation of all interested parties in impact and environmental assessment processes.

For more information on the Agency’s plans, priorities and planned results, see the “Core responsibilities: planned results and resources, and key risks” section of this report.

Core responsibilities: planned results and resources, and key risks

This section contains detailed information on the department’s planned results and resources for each of its core responsibilities. It also contains information on key risks related to achieving those results.

Impact Assessment

Description

The Agency provides high-quality assessments of environmental, economic, social, health and gender effects to support government decision-making in the public interest. Assessments are evidence-based and ensure that positive and negative effects and impacts on Indigenous groups and their rights are considered in order to foster sustainability.

Planning highlights

In 2021–22, the Agency will continue to implement the IAA and transition to the impact assessment system. As this transition continues, environmental assessments continue to be conducted for projects initiated under the previous Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 (CEAA 2012). At the same time, designated projects continue to enter into the system that came into force on August 28, 2019 and are subject to impact assessments under the IAA.

Departmental Result: Science, evidence and Indigenous knowledge is available to inform decisions in the public interest

The Agency is responsible for delivering high-quality environmental and impact assessments based on science, Indigenous knowledge, and other evidence. This includes conducting assessments as well as supporting assessments led by independent review panels, ensuring that assessments are informed by the best available evidence and promote positive effects while minimizing adverse impacts through mitigation measures. Evidence considered in assessments relates to economic, environmental, social, and health effects, as well as Indigenous knowledge, GBA+, and cumulative effects (as appropriate).

To continue delivering and supporting these assessments and to develop supporting policies, procedures, guidance, and best practices in 2021–22, the Agency will:

• continue to implement a Planning phase for designated projects that includes engaging Indigenous peoples and the public, and provides proponents with Tailored Impact Statement Guidelines outlining the scope of the assessment and the information and studies required in the proponent’s Impact Statement;
• implement an Impact Statement phase for designated projects, including liaising with proponents to support the development of robust Impact Statements and meaningful engagement activities with Indigenous groups and the public;
• prepare for and implement an Impact Assessment phase that ensures evidence-based assessments of the information and studies provided by proponents and takes into account Indigenous knowledge and the views of the public;
• support independent review panels and their administrative function through a secretariat;
• plan and implement regional and strategic assessments in cooperation with other relevant jurisdictions and organizations to inform the conduct of assessments and to better understand and manage cumulative effects or issues;
• collaborate with provincial, territorial, and Indigenous jurisdictions, expert federal departments, and federal lifecycle regulators to ensure efficient, credible, and predictable assessment and decision-making processes, including, where appropriate, supporting the objective of “one project, one assessment”;
• coordinate Crown-Indigenous consultation related to the review of designated projects in order to identify potential project impacts on Indigenous peoples and ensure appropriate avoidance, mitigation, or other accommodation measures are proposed and implemented to address potential impacts;
• support and conduct research related to impact assessment, including on the expanded scope of effects and factors to be considered in these assessments;
• lead interdepartmental committees to facilitate the exchange of information and best practices, and develop and implement strategies to improve the consistency and timeliness of assessments for projects on federal lands and outside of Canada;
• engage with international partners on capacity-building, enhance international cooperation and engage with other federal departments in developing and negotiating environmental assessment provisions in international agreements; and
• support the functioning of committees comprised of external experts to advise on the implementation of the IAA, including:
  • the Indigenous Advisory Committee—comprised of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples—which provides advice on the development of policies and guidance to help ensure unique rights, interests, and perspectives of Indigenous peoples are acknowledged, affirmed and implemented in environmental and impact assessments;
  • the Technical Advisory Committee on Science and Knowledge, which provides advice on topics related to impact assessments, as well as regional and strategic assessments;
  • the Minister’s Advisory Council, which provides the Minister with advice on issues related to the implementation of the impact assessment and regional and strategic assessment regimes; and
  • the Deputy Minister Impact Assessment Committee, which provides oversight and direction to support the delivery of the impact assessment and regulatory system.

Through the Canadian Impact Assessment Registry (the Registry), the Agency ensures transparency throughout the assessment process by:

• ensuring the public has access to scientific and impact assessment information, including information submitted by proponents (e.g., project descriptions, impact statements, implementation schedules, annual reports and plans); and
• providing greater transparency related to information considered in the decision-making process, including timely online access to comments submitted and reasons for decisions.

To support the delivery of these assessments and provide certainty and clarity to proponents, other jurisdictions, Indigenous peoples and the public, the Agency develops and promotes legislative and policy frameworks, tools, guidance, and best practices.

In addition, the Agency’s President is the federal administrator responsible for reviewing and determining whether projects of a federal nature proposed under the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement or Northeastern Quebec Agreement should proceed, and if so, under which conditions. To support the President in this role, the Agency will continue to effectively and efficiently implement the assessment process in areas where the IAA and other impact assessment requirements established under land claim agreements co-exist (e.g., James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, Nisga’a Final Agreement, Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement, Tsawwassen First Nation Final Agreement, Inuvialuit Final Agreement).

Departmental Result: Indigenous groups, the public and stakeholders have opportunities to meaningfully participate in assessments

As part of its core responsibility, the Agency supports an open and transparent government as well as meaningful participation by all parties with an interest in assessments, including environmental and impact assessments, regional assessments, and strategic assessments. In addition to the collaboration and coordination priorities discussed above, in 2021–22, the Agency will continue to ensure that Indigenous groups, the public, and stakeholders have opportunities to participate meaningfully in the assessment process by:

• delivering funding programs to support the participation of Indigenous peoples, the public, and stakeholders in the federal assessment process;
• supporting the capacity of Indigenous peoples to improve their preparedness for, knowledge of, and technical expertise pertaining to impact assessments and related activities;
• enhancing opportunities for Indigenous peoples, the public and stakeholders to participate meaningfully throughout the assessment process, including using a variety of tools and approaches for engagement, tailoring activities to support the participation of Indigenous peoples in specific projects as appropriate, and implementing innovative approaches for meaningful participation during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic;
• collaborating meaningfully with Indigenous peoples in the development of policy instruments, regulations, policies, and guidance documents;
• implementing new collaborative approaches and partnerships with Indigenous communities;
• supporting Indigenous Services and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada with the negotiation of assessment provisions in agreements with Indigenous peoples; and
• continuing to develop and deliver training on impact assessment processes and to provide information to those engaged in the assessment process, including practitioners, Indigenous peoples, the public and stakeholders.

Departmental Result: Assessments result in mitigation measures that minimize the adverse effects of projects

A decision statement is issued at the end of an assessment that sets out whether a project may proceed, and if so, under what conditions. Conditions consist of mitigation measures and a follow-up program that the proponent must fulfil. In support of a consistent and transparent approach to the informing of decision statements issued by the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, the Agency will:

• identify key mitigation measures required to minimize the potential adverse impacts of a project;
• establish follow-up programs to verify the accuracy of the predications made during project assessments and to determine the effectiveness of the mitigation measures;
• develop potential conditions for each project upon which a decision is made for the project to proceed; and
• provide proponents, Indigenous groups, the public and other stakeholders with an opportunity to comment on potential conditions, and to the extent possible, integrate comments into the recommended conditions prepared for the Minister to incorporate into the decision statement.

Strong decision statements, combined with compliance promotion, verification, and enforcement activities help protect the environment, human health, and the rights of Indigenous peoples. The Agency is responsible for promoting, monitoring, and facilitating compliance with decision statements. This helps to ensure that the adverse effects of projects are avoided as mitigation measures defined in the decision statements are implemented by proponents. To continue to ensure compliance in this regard, the Agency will:

• conduct inspections and verify non-compliance;
• undertake enforcement actions, when necessary, to ensure that corrective actions are taken to restore compliance and avoid adverse effects; and
• review project changes proposed by proponents to ensure that any changes do not result in effects that differ from the completed assessments.

Through the Registry, the Agency provides public access to compliance and enforcement-related information, including annual reports, enforcement actions taken and inspection summaries.

Gender-based analysis plus (GBA+)

GBA+ is an analytical process used to assess how diverse groups of women, men and gender-diverse people experience policies, programs and services based on multiple factors including race, ethnicity, religion, age, and mental or physical disability.

For projects initiated under CEAA 2012, the Agency carries out a GBA+ assessment on projects that require a Governor-in-Council decision as to whether the significant adverse environmental effects were justified in the circumstances.

The application of GBA+ to impact assessment under the IAA seeks to understand, describe, and where possible, mitigate adverse impacts on diverse populations. As a result, the Agency must ensure that GBA+ is integrated throughout the impact assessment process, including for the decision-making phase. In 2021–22, the Agency will continue to review project descriptions and impact statements to ensure projects demonstrate the application of GBA+, as informed by Agency guidance and best practices from the Government’s Gender Results Framework.

As designated projects under CEAA 2012 move to the decision-making phase with Cabinet or the Governor-in-Council, the Agency will continue to prepare Memoranda to Cabinet that include GBA+ analysis to ensure decisions are informed by this information.

In support of these processes, the Agency continues to update and amend guidance on GBA+ to include best practices and to reflect changes in the needs of practitioners. The Agency also provides advanced technical training on applying GBA+ for Agency employees, and supports and disseminates research on GBA+ through the Agency’s research program.

United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The Agency’s planned activities under its Impact Assessment core responsibility support Canada’s efforts to address the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN SDGs. In particular, the Agency contributes to ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns (SDG 12) by promoting public procurement practices that are sustainable, in accordance with national policies and priorities (SDG 12.7).

Experimentation

The Agency is exploring the use of artificial intelligence for translation services, comment analysis, and possibly more.

Key risk(s)

The following table describes the key risks that might affect the achievement of results for the Agency’s core responsibility, and accordant mitigation strategies.

Key risks	Mitigation strategies
Fluctuation of economic activity and commodity price The Agency operates in a continuously changing environment influenced by outside factors. In particular, economic factors affect the type, timing, volume and distribution of projects that will require assessments, including regional distribution.	The Agency has consistently maintained proactive relationships with proponents in order to obtain early indications of potential projects so that project volume can be forecasted and adjustments made to the Agency’s work plan (to the extent possible). The Agency will continue to maintain these relationships in order to manage and plan its workload. The Agency will continue to reallocate resources, where possible and necessary, to address fluctuations in project volume. It will also continue to develop strategies with central agencies to meet legislative responsibilities under the IAA.
Inadequate or ineffective Crown Consultations and Indigenous participation To fulfill the federal Crown’s legal duty to consult, the Agency acts as the Crown Consultation Coordinator for the assessment process, including for integrated reviews with lifecycle regulators. Effective Crown consultation requires the meaningful participation of potentially affected Indigenous groups as well as other federal organizations, as measures proposed to avoid or minimize potential impacts on Indigenous peoples may rest within their areas of expertise or jurisdiction. A lack of adequate consultation makes it difficult to identify potential project impacts on Indigenous peoples and ensure appropriate avoidance, mitigation or other accommodation measures are proposed and implemented to address potential impacts.	The impact assessment process includes activities aimed at exceeding the duty to consult by establishing partnerships and advancing the Government’s reconciliation agenda. Indigenous consultation is being enhanced by enabling Indigenous concerns to be heard and, through early planning, identified and addressed at an earlier stage in the assessment process. Policy dialogue will also enable Indigenous peoples to shape the way in which assessments are conducted, resulting in processes that better address their concerns and accommodate their specific needs. The Agency’s Participant Funding Program covers a portion of the costs incurred by Indigenous groups to participate in assessments, and will help reduce financial barriers for Indigenous participation in consultations.
Duplication of effort due to shared responsibilities Shared federal and provincial responsibility for environmental management leads to a risk of duplication between federal, provincial and territorial assessment processes.	Under the Constitution Act, 1982, environmental management is an area of shared responsibility between federal, provincial and territorial governments. As a result, some projects may require both a federal and a provincial assessment. The Agency seeks to strengthen cooperation with provinces and territories through better coordination and alignment of assessment timelines and processes, as well as developing mechanisms to facilitate cooperation (including cooperation agreements).
Non-compliance with conditions Proponent non-compliance, including non-compliance with conditions identified in decision statements, could result in environmental, economic, social, and health impacts, and/or undermine public confidence.	Decision statements contain clear and measurable conditions, including mitigation measures and follow-up program requirements. The Agency’s Compliance and Enforcement Program promotes and verifies compliance and determines an appropriate response to situations involving non-compliance.
Dependency on global and domestic economic performance Effective delivery of the Agency’s mandate is directly linked to global and domestic economic performance, particularly in the post COVID-19 recovery period. Potential impacts relate to the Agency’s ability to undertake meaningful public engagement and Indigenous consultation on projects undergoing assessments in a timely way. Changing economic performance also affects the timing and volume of work, which has an impact on spending related to program delivery, including grants and contributions spending and planned staffing to support assessments.	The Agency continues to assess the COVID-19 situation, make adjustments to consultation activities, and provide flexibility as needed in order to prioritize the health and safety of all Canadians, while fulfilling its responsibility to conduct meaningful engagement with interested groups. The Agency also continues to monitor impacts related to spending and makes adjustments as required related to spending on classes of public service activities such as travel, delays in major capital projects, cancellation of contracts, delays in planned staffing, etc.

Planned results for impact assessment

Departmental result	Departmental result indicator	Target	Date to achieve target	2017–18actual result*	2018–19 actual result*	2019–20 actual result*
Science, evidence and Indigenous knowledge is available to inform decisions in the public interest	Percentage of assessment reports provided to decision-makers that include a science-based assessment of the project, and a summary of public comments and how Indigenous knowledge and perspectives were considered	100%	March 2022	Not available	Not available	Not available
Indigenous groups, the public and stakeholders have opportunities to meaningfully participate in assessments	Percentage of Indigenous groups participating in assessment-related engagement/consultation activities that indicate IAAC’s engagement was meaningful	To be determined in 2021–22	March 2022	Not available	Not available	Not available
	Percentage of public and stakeholder participants in assessment-related engagement/consultation activities that indicate IAAC’s engagement was meaningful	To be determined in 2021–22	March 2022	Not available	Not available	Not available
Assessments result in mitigation measures that minimize the adverse effects of projects	Percentage of projects for which reporting indicates that mitigation measures set out in the decision statement effectively address adverse effects of the project	At least 90%	March 2022	Not available	Not available	Not available
Notes: * Indicator results are not available for 2017–18, 2018–19, and 2019–20 as the Departmental Results Framework was updated for 2021–22 to reflect the mandate and responsibilities of the Agency under the IAA.

Planned budgetary financial resources for impact assessment

2021–22 budgetary spending (as indicated in Main Estimates)	2021–22 planned spending	2022–23 planned spending	2023–24 planned spending
68,846,398	68,846,398	69,422,791	16,760,722

Planned human resources for impact assessment

2021–22 planned full-time equivalents	2022–23 planned full-time equivalents	2023–24 planned full-time equivalents
369	370	132

Financial, human resources and performance information for the Agency’s program inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.^{Footnote i}

Internal Services: planned results

Description

Internal Services are those groups of related activities and resources that the federal government considers to be services in support of Programs and/or required to meet corporate obligations of an organization. Internal Services refers to the activities and resources of the 10 distinct services that support Program delivery in the organization, regardless of the Internal Services delivery model in a department. These services are:

• Management and Oversight Services
• Communications Services
• Legal Services
• Human Resources Management Services
• Financial Management Services
• Information Management Services
• Information Technology Services
• Real Property Management Services
• Materiel Management Services
• Acquisition Management Services

Planning highlights

In 2021–22, the Agency’s Internal Services will continue to strengthen its capacity to implement the IAA, deliver on its priorities, contribute to the effective delivery of the core responsibility, and advance the Minister’s Mandate Letter commitments and Government of Canada priorities. By providing corporate support, the Agency’s Internal Services will ensure that programs are properly equipped to deliver results to Canadians.

In 2021–22, the Agency will:

• continue to foster and support a healthy, respectful, diverse, accessible and inclusive workplace;
• equip management and employees with tools to adapt successfully to our current environment;
• build and sustain the necessary workforce to deliver high-quality assessments;
• implement new workplace harassment and violence prevention legislation and related guidance across the Agency;
• continue to enhance the Agency’s capacity to support the government’s priority to integrate GBA+ considerations across its programs and policies;
• ensure appropriate accommodation for an expanded Agency in the context of the evolving work environment, including through building a hybrid work environment to facilitate the needs of employees and by continuing to move towards a digital and modernized approach;
• foster and implement a full cloud environment to support a forward-thinking digital environment with the support of the Microsoft 365 platform;
• ensure security and accommodation plans and services are in place to continue to support the Agency’s programs;
• ensure effective stewardship of current and incremental financial resources;
• work with other government departments to implement measures to stabilize the administration of pay services for Agency employees;
• lead the Horizontal Initiative Framework to deliver the impact assessment system in partnership with eight other federal departments and agencies to ensure performance measurement information is available to support evidence-informed decision-making, and transparent reporting to parliamentarians and the public; and
• provide support for ongoing environmental and impact assessments.

Furthermore, in support of the Government of Canada’s transparency and openness agenda, Internal Services provides information management, access to information and technology expertise to advance the Agency’s vision of continuous improvement. This includes providing technical support and assistance for the public Registry. Additional improvements to the Registry are planned to further enhance the public’s user experience and access to information on assessments and associated regulatory processes.

Planned budgetary financial resources for Internal Services

2021–22 budgetary spending (as indicated in Main Estimates)	2021–22 planned spending	2022–23 planned spending	2023–24 planned spending
10,196,539	10,196,539	10,281,906	2,482,357

Planned human resources for Internal Services

2021–22 planned full-time equivalents	2022–23 planned full-time equivalents	2023–24 planned full-time equivalents
73	73	26

Spending and human resources

This section provides an overview of the department’s planned spending and human resources for the next three consecutive fiscal years and compares planned spending for the upcoming year with the current and previous years’ actual spending.

Planned spending

Departmental spending 2018–19 to 2023–24

The following graph presents planned (voted and statutory) spending over time.

The Agency’s overall authorities continue to increase slightly as a result of the implementation of the IAA. The slight increase in authorities is attributed to the Grants and Contribution program as the Agency continues to focus on building Indigenous engagement capacity in impact assessments. Spending is expected to remain relatively stable over the next two years, for the duration of the current five-year mandate ending March 31, 2023.

Budgetary planning summary for core responsibilities and Internal Services (dollars)

The following table shows actual, forecast and planned spending for each of the Agency’s core responsibilities and to Internal Services for the years relevant to the current planning year.

Budgetary planning summary for core responsibilities and Internal Services (dollars)

Core responsibilities and Internal Services	2018–19 expenditures	2019–20 expenditures	2020–21 forecast spending	2021–22 budgetary spending (as indicated in Main Estimates)	2021–22 planned spending	2022–23 planned spending	2023–24 planned spending
Impact Assessment	37,406,567	53,122,081	66,651,607	68,846,398	68,846,398	69,422,791	16,760,722
Subtotal	37,406,567	53,122,081	66,651,607	68,846,398	68,846,398	69,422,791	16,760,722
Internal Services	10,157,454	10,324,816	9,831,788	10,196,539	10,196,539	10,281,906	2,482,357
Total	47,564,021	63,446,897	76,483,395	79,042,937	79,042,937	79,704,697	19,243,079

The table above does not include cost-recoverable expenditures that are considered revenue. The Agency has the authority to recover up to $8 million in costs annually, which is netted against the voted authority. The Agency’s authorities remain stable until March 31, 2023.

Fiscal year 2020–21 was the first full year of implementation of the IAA. In 2021–22, the Agency will continue the implementation of the expanded mandate under the IAA with increased support for Indigenous engagement and consultation to be delivered through the Grants and Contribution transfer payment program.

The Agency’s total planned spending for 2021–22 is $79 million.

Planned human resources

The following table shows actual, forecast and planned full-time equivalents (FTEs) for each core responsibility in the Agency’s departmental results framework and to Internal Services for the years relevant to the current planning year.

Human resources planning summary for core responsibilities and Internal Services

Core responsibilities and Internal Services	2018–19 actual full-time equivalents	2019–20 actual full-time equivalents	2020–21 forecast full-time equivalents	2021–22 planned full-time equivalents	2022–23 planned full-time equivalents	2023–24 planned full-time equivalents
Impact Assessment	252	335	373	369	370	132
Subtotal	252	335	373	369	370	132
Internal Services	57	70	74	73	73	26
Total	309	405	447	442	443	158

The Agency’s FTE count has increased over the past few years as a result of the implementation of the new impact assessment regime following the coming into force of the IAA in 2019. The Agency plans to utilize 442 FTEs in 2021–22, a slight decrease from 2020–21 levels.

Estimates by vote

Information on the Agency’s organizational appropriations is available in the 2021–22 Main Estimates.^{Footnote ii}

Future-oriented condensed statement of operations

The future-oriented condensed statement of operations provides an overview of the Agency’s operations for 2020–21 to 2021–22.

The amounts for forecast and planned results in this statement of operations were prepared on an accrual basis. The amounts for forecast and planned spending presented in other sections of the Departmental Plan were prepared on an expenditure basis. Amounts may therefore differ.

A more detailed future-oriented statement of operations and associated notes, including a reconciliation of the net cost of operations to the requested authorities, are available on the Agency’s website.^{Footnote iii}

Future-oriented Condensed statement of operations for the year ending March 31, 2022 (dollars)

Financial information	2020–21 forecast results	2021–22 planned results	Difference (2021–22 planned results minus 2020–21 forecast results)
Total expenses	85,221,080	88,203,596	2,982,516
Total revenues	2,000,000	3,100,000	1,100,000
Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers	83,221,080	85,103,596	1,882,516

Total Agency operational expenses are currently expected to increase by $2.9 million, or three and a half percent based on the Agency’s authorities. This variance is due to the increase in the Agency’s Grants and Contributions authorities. The $3.1 million in planned revenues are forecasted cost recoveries from panel reviews.

Corporate information

Organizational profile

Appropriate minister(s): The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, P.C., M.P., Minister of Environment and Climate Change

Institutional head: David McGovern, President

Ministerial portfolio: Environment

Enabling instrument(s): Impact Assessment Act^{Footnote iv}

Year of incorporation / commencement: 1994

Other: The Impact Assessment Act is supported by four regulations and a Ministerial Order: Physical Activities Regulations, Information and Management of Time Limits Regulations, Cost Recovery Regulations, Designated Classes of Projects Order, and Regulations Respecting Excluded Physical Activities (Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Exploratory Wells). The Agency supports its President who is also the Federal Administrator under the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, and the Northeastern Quebec Agreement.

Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do

“Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do” is available on the Agency’s website.^{Footnote v}

For more information on the department’s organizational mandate letter commitments, see the “Minister’s mandate letter”.^{Footnote vi}

Operating context

Information on the operating context is available on the Agency’s website.^{Footnote vii}

Reporting framework

The Agency’s approved departmental results framework and program inventory for 2021–22 are as follows.

Changes to the approved reporting framework since 2020–21

Amendments were made to the reporting framework for 2020–21 to better reflect the goals of the Agency following the coming-into-force of the IAA on August 28, 2019. In addition, the Agency revised its Program Inventory to identify clearly and comprehensively, to Parliament and Canadians, how the Agency is delivering on its Core Responsibility, and to reflect the expanded mandate of the Agency under the IAA.

Structure	2020–	2021–22	Change	Reason for change
CORE RESPONSIBILITY	Impact Assessment	Impact Assessment	No change	n/a
PROGRAM	Impact Assessment Policy Development	Assessment Administration, Conduct and Monitoring	New program	Note 1
PROGRAM	Assessment Delivery	Indigenous Relations and Engagement	New program	Note 1
Note 1 The Program Inventory was revised to identify clearly and comprehensively, to Parliament and Canadians, how the Agency is delivering on its Core Responsibility, and to reflect the expanded mandate of the Agency under the IAA.

Supporting information on the program inventory

Supporting information on planned expenditures, human resources, and results related to the Agency’s program inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.^{Footnote viii}

Supplementary information tables

The following supplementary information tables are available on the Agency’s website^{Footnote ix}:

• Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy^{Footnote x}
• Details on transfer payment programs^{Footnote xi}
• Gender-based analysis plus^{Footnote xii}
• Horizontal initiatives^{Footnote xiii}

Federal tax expenditures

The Agency’s Departmental Plan does not include information on tax expenditures that relate to its planned results for 2021–22.

Tax expenditures are the responsibility of the Minister of Finance, and the Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for government­-wide tax expenditures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures.^{Footnote xiv} This report provides detailed information on tax expenditures, including objectives, historical background and references to related federal spending programs, as well as evaluations, research papers and gender-based analysis. The tax measures presented in this report are solely the responsibility of the Minister of Finance.

Organizational contact information

Mailing address

Impact Assessment Agency of Canada
Place Bell Canada, 160 Elgin Street, 22nd Floor
Ottawa ON K1A 0H3 Canada
Telephone: 613-957-0700
Fax: 613-957-0862
Email: iaac.information.aeic@canada.ca^{Footnote xv}
Website(s): https://www.canada.ca/iaac^{Footnote xvi}

Appendix: definitions

appropriation (crédit)

Any authority of Parliament to pay money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

budgetary expenditures (dépenses budgétaires)

Operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, organizations or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.

core responsibility (responsabilité essentielle)

An enduring function or role performed by a department. The intentions of the department with respect to a core responsibility are reflected in one or more related departmental results that the department seeks to contribute to or influence.

Departmental Plan (plan ministériel)

A report on the plans and expected performance of a department over a 3-year period. Departmental Plans are tabled in Parliament each spring.

departmental priority (priorité ministérielle)

A plan or project that a department has chosen to focus and report on during the planning period. Departmental priorities represent the things that are most important or what must be done first to support the achievement of the desired departmental results.

departmental result (résultat ministériel)

A consequence or outcome that a department seeks to achieve. A departmental result is often outside departments’ immediate control, but it should be influenced by program-level outcomes.

departmental result indicator (indicateur de résultat ministériel)

A factor or variable that provides a valid and reliable means to measure or describe progress on a departmental result.

departmental results framework (cadre ministériel des résultats)

A framework that consists of the department’s core responsibilities, departmental results and departmental result indicators.

Departmental Results Report (rapport sur les résultats ministériels)

A report on a department’s actual accomplishments against the plans, priorities and expected results set out in the corresponding Departmental Plan.

experimentation (expérimentation)

The conducting of activities that seek to first explore, then test and compare, the effects and impacts of policies and interventions in order to inform evidence-based decision-making, and improve outcomes for Canadians, by learning what works and what doesn’t. Experimentation is related to, but distinct form innovation (the trying of new things), because it involves a rigorous comparison of results. For example, using a new website to communicate with Canadians can be an innovation; systematically testing the new website against existing outreach tools or an old website to see which one leads to more engagement, is experimentation.

full-time equivalent (équivalent temps plein)

A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person-year charge against a departmental budget. Full-time equivalents are calculated as a ratio of assigned hours of work to scheduled hours of work. Scheduled hours of work are set out in collective agreements.

gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS+])

An analytical process used to assess how diverse groups of women, men and gender-diverse people experience policies, programs and services based on multiple factors including race, ethnicity, religion, age, and mental or physical disability.

government-wide priorities (priorités pangouvernementales)

For the purpose of the 2021–22 Departmental Plan, government-wide priorities refers to those high-level themes outlining the government’s agenda in the 2020 Speech from the Throne, namely: Protecting Canadians from COVID-19; Helping Canadians through the pandemic; Building back better – a resiliency agenda for the middle class; The Canada we’re fighting for.

horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)

An initiative in which two or more federal organizations are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.

non-budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires)

Net outlays and receipts related to loans, investments and advances, which change the composition of the financial assets of the Government of Canada.

performance (rendement)

What an organization did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare to what the organization intended to achieve, and how well lessons learned have been identified.

performance indicator (indicateur de rendement)

A qualitative or quantitative means of measuring an output or outcome, with the intention of gauging the performance of an organization, program, policy or initiative respecting expected results.

performance reporting (production de rapports sur le rendement)

The process of communicating evidence-based performance information. Performance reporting supports decision-making, accountability and transparency.

plan (plan)

The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how an organization intends to achieve its priorities and associated results. Generally a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen and tend to focus on actions that lead up to the expected result.

planned spending (dépenses prévues)

For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts presented in the Main Estimates.
A department is expected to be aware of the authorities that it has sought and received. The determination of planned spending is a departmental responsibility, and departments must be able to defend the expenditure and accrual numbers presented in their Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports.

program (programme)

Individual or groups of services, activities or combinations thereof that are managed together within the department and focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.

program inventory (répertoire des programmes)

Identifies all of the department’s programs and describes how resources are organized to contribute to the department’s core responsibilities and results.

result (résultat)

An external consequence attributed, in part, to an organization, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single organization, policy, program or initiative; instead they are within the area of the organization’s influence.

statutory expenditures (dépenses législatives)

Expenditures that Parliament has approved through legislation other than appropriation acts. The legislation sets out the purpose of the expenditures and the terms and conditions under which they may be made.

strategic outcome (résultat stratégique)

A long-term and enduring benefit to Canadians that is linked to the organization’s mandate, vision and core functions.

target (cible)

A measurable performance or success level that an organization, program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified time period. Targets can be either quantitative or qualitative.

voted expenditures (dépenses votées)

Expenditures that Parliament approves annually through an Appropriation Act. The vote wording becomes the governing conditions under which these expenditures may be made.