Impact Assessment Agency of Canada's 2023–24 Departmental results report: At a glance

A departmental results report provides an account of actual accomplishments against plans, priorities and expected results set out in the associated Departmental Plan.

• Vision, mission, raison d’être and operating context
• Minister’s mandate letter

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Key priorities

The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada’s (IAAC) top priorities for 2023–24 were as follows:

• deliver high-quality environmental and impact assessments—based on scientific and evidence-based information and Indigenous Knowledge on key social, economic, health, and environmental effects—that promote positive effects and minimize adverse effects through mitigation measures;
• ensure predictable, efficient, relevant, and tailored environmental and impact assessment processes and decision-making by implementing the IAA and Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 (CEAA 2012), while also developing related policies and guidance to help facilitate effective and efficient assessments;
• support the advancement of the Government of Canada’s commitment to reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples by forming meaningful partnerships across Canada, while aiming to maximize Indigenous leadership in assessments;
• enhance opportunities and mechanisms for the meaningful participation of Indigenous Peoples, the public, and stakeholders, and develop their capacity (i.e., knowledge, skills, and abilities) to contribute throughout the assessment process, and deliver engagement approaches and methods that are responsive to their needs;
• collaborate with provincial and territorial governments, Indigenous partners, other federal government departments and agencies, and international partners to meet Canada’s national and international obligations and responsibilities related to impact assessments;
• contribute to an improved understanding and management of effects of a project’s activities, including cumulative effects, by advancing the development of regional assessments in cooperation with other jurisdictions and organizations, and by considering opportunities for strategic assessments of federal policies, plans, programs or issues relevant to conducting impact assessments; and
• strengthen internal capacity to provide effective and timely professional support in the delivery of IAAC’s priorities.

Highlights

In 2023–24, total actual spending (including internal services) for IAAC was $97,544,816 and total full-time equivalent staff (including internal services) was 508. For complete information on IAAC’s total spending and human resources, read the Spending and human resources section of the full report.

The following provides a summary of the department’s achievements in 2023–24 according to its approved Departmental Results Framework. A Departmental Results Framework consists of a department’s core responsibilities, the results it plans to achieve and the performance indicators that measure progress toward these results.

Core responsibility 1: Impact Assessment

Actual spending: $78,642,540

Actual human resources: 401

Departmental results achieved

• Immediately following the October 2023 Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) Decision on the constitutionality of the Impact Assessment Act (IAA), IAAC supported the Government in developing proposed legislative amendments to align the IAA with the SCC Decision, including undertaking meaningful consultations with provinces, Indigenous groups, industry, and professional associations.
• Interim Guidance on the IAA was released following the SCC Decision to provide clarity for projects already undergoing assessments, including for proponents, Indigenous groups, investors, and the public.
• In collaboration with federal authorities, other orders of government, and Indigenous Peoples, 53 project assessments (23 environmental assessments, and 30 impact assessments) progressed in 2023–24, including decision-making on the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Project. Three regional assessments were also advanced.
• Decisions were made early in the assessment process that federal impact assessments were not required. This includes responding to 11 requests for designation for which no project was designated, determining that 60% of projects (three of five) in the planning phase of the impact assessment process, with Detailed Project Descriptions, did not require an assessment.
• IAAC actively supported and provided advice to the Ministerial Working Group on Regulatory Efficiency for Clean Growth Projects to identify ways to make impact assessment, regulatory, and permitting processes for major projects more efficient and to advance clean growth projects in Canada.
• Financial barriers faced by Indigenous Peoples and the public in participating and engaging in assessment processes were reduced through the delivery of the Participant Funding Program, Indigenous Capacity Support Program, and Policy Dialogue Program. This funding support along with capacity building activities and ensuring assessment-related information was available enabled Indigenous Peoples and the public to participate meaningfully in assessment and policy development processes. It also facilitated capacity building among Indigenous Peoples, as well as the participation of Indigenous Peoples in post-decision activities.
• In collaboration with Indigenous groups, co-development opportunities and solutions were identified and are expected to create efficiencies in assessment processes and advanced the policy and regulatory framework to allow for Indigenous co-administration agreements.
• As the lead for federal impact assessments, IAAC collaborated with federal authorities throughout assessment processes, including to develop project-specific documents to support the incorporation of timely and efficient input and evidence into assessments. IAAC also continued to maintain and improve the Canadian Impact Assessment Registry for the public to access information on all federal assessments, making it easier for Canadians to learn more about, or submit input on, an assessment.
• Partnerships and collaborative relationships with First Nation, Métis, Inuit, and Modern Treaty partners were advanced, leading to collaboration being built into all assessment processes. This includes collaborating with the Nunatsiavut Government on the New Nain Airport Project and the Strange Lake Mining Project, the Cree Nation Government on the Troilus Mining and the Mont Sorcier Mining projects, and the Nisga’a Nation on the Ksi Lisims LNG – Natural Gas Liquefaction Facility and Marine Terminal Project.
• By developing and implementing a Reconciliation Framework, IAAC has embedded reconciliation into its organizational culture and seeks to cultivate meaningful relationships, respect Indigenous governance and knowledge systems, maximize Indigenous leadership in impact assessments, and build education, awareness, and inclusion.

More information about impact assessment can be found in the "Results – what we achieved" section of the full departmental results report.