Basics of co-operation

A key principle of the Impact Assessment Act (IAA) is co-operation with other jurisdictions, such as provinces, territories and Indigenous jurisdictions. Co-operation allows us to work together towards a single impact assessment process for major projects with each jurisdiction maintaining authority over their respective areas of jurisdiction.

By working together, we can reduce duplication and enhance the efficiency and certainty of the assessment process. The goal is "one project, one review" and this approach is critical to the success of Canada’s regulatory approach for major projects.

On this page

• Benefits of co-operation
• Co-operation approaches
• Draft co-operation agreement between New Brunswick and Canada

Benefits of co-operation

Guided by the principle of "one project, one review," co-operation offers many benefits while respecting the jurisdictional responsibilities of each government. These include:

• Greater certainty around jurisdictional roles and responsibilities in assessments.
• Demonstrate a shared commitment to enhancing efficiency and reducing duplication.
• Provide transparency, predictability and certainty to proponents, Indigenous partners, investors and stakeholders on how the federal and provincial governments will work together on "one project, one review" while meeting the requirements of each jurisdiction.
• Facilitate the alignment and integration of permitting processes and requirements into the environmental or impact assessment process and improve coordination and integration of federal and provincial permitting processes.
• Enable the use of new and full flexibilities in the IAA to defer to, and to work with and through, provincial processes under the mechanisms described below, to achieve "one project, one review."

Co-operation approaches

We have launched a comment period on a paper which outlines our proposed approach to working with provinces on the assessment of major projects through co-operation agreements and what could be included in agreements with provinces.

Co-operation agreements with provinces play an important role in:

• Setting out how we will work together
• Providing transparency, predictability and certainty for all involved in assessments
• Unlocking the new and full flexibility in the IAA to defer to, and to work with and through, provincial processes
• Improving permitting coordination

The comment period for the initiative will take place from September 19, 2025 to October 20, 2025. Only comments submitted by 11:59 P.M. (Pacific Standard Time) on October 20, 2025 will be accepted.

Visit "One Project, One Review": Co-operation Agreements for the Assessment of Major Projects for more information and to review the co-operation approach.

Comments received will inform the drafting of co-operation agreements with interested provinces. IAAC will make those individual draft agreements available for comment as they become available.

For a list of current agreements, consult Agreements related to assessments.

Draft co-operation agreement between New Brunswick and Canada

The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) invites Indigenous Peoples and the public to provide comments on the draft co-operation agreement between the Governments of New Brunswick and Canada.

Visit the Let’s Talk Impact Assessment webpage to review the draft co-operation agreement and submit comments.

Comments submitted by October 20, 2025, 11:59 p.m. ET will be considered.