Phase 1: Planning

"Proponent" means the person or entity –  federal authority, government or body – that proposes the carrying out of, or carries out, a designated project.

The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (the Agency) is responsible for delivering high-quality impact assessments and serves as the centre of expertise on this subject matter within the Government of Canada. The Agency leads on federal reviews of major projects, working with other bodies, provinces, territories and Indigenous jurisdictions.

The Physical Activities Regulations (the Project List) identifies the physical activities associated with the carrying out of projects (e.g. construction of a mine or construction of a hydroelectric generation facility) that may require an impact assessment. Each physical activity includes a description and, when applicable, a corresponding threshold. The corresponding threshold serves as a representation of scale or size. If the project includes an activity that is described on the Project List, the proponent must submit an Initial Project Description to the Agency as described in the Information and Management of Time Limits Regulations, which launches the planning step.

The Information and Management of Time Limits Regulations prescribe:

• the information that the proponent is required to provide to the Agency in the planning phase of the potential impact assessment;
• the documents the Agency is required to provide to proponents if it is determined that an impact assessment is required;
• the requirements to support accessibility of information provided by proponents;
• the circumstances in which the legislated timelines can be suspended during the impact assessment process;
• the requirement for the Agency to make participant funding programs available for all designated projects; and
• the time limit for the Minister to respond to a request that a regional or strategic assessment be conducted.

The planning phase has a legislated timeline of up to 180 days. The Agency can extend this timeline by up to 90 days on the request of another jurisdiction and is required to post reasons for any extension on the Registry.

An Initial Project Description is a required document prepared by the proponent of a designated project. Proponents are required to submit an initial description of the designated project to the Agency to start the planning phase. The Initial Project Description must include the information set out in the Information and Management of Time Limits Regulations.

The purpose of this Initial Project Description is to:

• allow the Agency to determine if the proposed project is a designated project under the Regulations Designating Physical Activities;
• inform the public about the project and provide engagement opportunities; and
• include sufficient detail to support cooperation discussions with provincial, territorial and Indigenous jurisdictions and commence engagement and consultation with Indigenous peoples.

The Summary of Issues is a document prepared by the Agency that outlines issues raised in the planning phase by the public, Indigenous group, any jurisdiction, or federal authorities. The Summary of Issues provides a proponent with an understanding of issues that have been raised and requires the proponent to respond to the Agency with how it will address issues. The Summary of Issues also allows participants to see how comments and concerns in the early planning phase have been characterized. The Summary of Issues will be used to inform the Agency's decision on whether to require an impact assessment and to inform the Tailored Impact Statement Guidelines.

The proponent's Response to the Summary of Issues demonstrates how the proponent intends to address the issues raised during the planning phase and provided by the Agency following engagement and cooperation discussions. This could include issues that were raised during consultation in the planning phase as well as issues with respect to the proposed designated project. This document would be used to help the Agency determine whether an impact assessment is required and to inform the Tailored Impact Statement Guidelines.

A Detailed Project Description is completed by the proponent based on the information prescribed in the Information and Management of Time Limits Regulations. The Detailed Project Description contains updated and more detailed information from the Initial Project Description that proponents have already provided as well as information about the possible environmental, social, health and economic effects of the project.

The decision regarding the need for an impact assessment is made by the Agency as early as possible in the planning phase. In making its decision, the Agency considers the following factors:

• the Initial Project Description, the proponent's Response to the Summary of Issues provided by the Agency and the Detailed Project Description;
• the possible adverse effects of the designated project that are within federal jurisdiction or the adverse effects that are directly linked or necessarily incidental to the exercise of federal power, duty or function;
• any adverse impact the designated project may have on the rights of Indigenous peoples of Canada;
• any comments received from the public, any jurisdiction or Indigenous groups;
• any relevant regional or strategic assessment;
• any study that is conducted or plan that is prepared by a provincial, territorial and Indigenous jurisdiction (in respect of a region in which the designated project is located) and that has been provided to the Agency; and
• any other factor that the Agency considers relevant.

Early engagement and planning will help inform the development of documents that are used to guide the impact assessment, if an impact assessment is required. Those documents include:

• Impact Assessment Cooperation Plan: established between the Agency and provincial, territorial and Indigenous jurisdictions on the impact assessment process. It establishes harmonized timelines, when possible, with provincial, territorial and Indigenous jurisdictions.
• Indigenous Engagement and Partnership Plan: developed jointly with Indigenous groups and describes how they would like to be engaged and consulted throughout the assessment process. The plan will also include preferred engagement strategies and tools and, where known, opportunities for engagement with proponents and other jurisdictions. The partnerships and consultations outlined in the document would be based on the explicit recognition of Indigenous rights and interests and clearly reflect the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
• Public Participation Plan: outlines public participation opportunities during the impact assessment process based on how members of the public indicated they would like to be engaged in the process. The plan will also include preferred engagement strategies and tools and, where known, opportunities for engagement with proponents and other jurisdictions.
• Permitting Plan: developed in coordination with federal authorities. It provides an outline of the anticipated federal permits, licenses and authorizations required for the project.
• Tailored Impact Statement Guidelines: outlines the information and studies required by the proponent in its Impact Statement.

Under the Impact Assessment Act, jurisdiction is defined as:

• A federal authority;
• Any agency or body that is established under an Act of Parliament and that has powers, duties or functions in relation to an assessment of the environmental effects of designated project;
• the government of a province;
• any agency or body that is established under an Act of the legislature of a province and that has powers, duties or functions in relation to an assessment of the environmental effects of a designated project;
• Any body – including a co-management body – established under a land claim agreement and that has powers duties of functions in relation to an assessment of the environmental effects of a designated project;
• An Indigenous governing body that has powers, duties or functions in relation to an assessment of environmental effects of a designated project under a land claim agreement or an Act of Parliament;
• An Indigenous governing body that has entered into an agreement or arrangement with the Minister under the Act;
• A government of a foreign state or of a subdivision of a foreign state, or any institution of such a government; and
• An international organization of states or any institution of such an organization.

The Registry is a platform, which provides convenient and timely access to information to assist the public in participating in the impact assessment process. The Registry offers a number of options to help Canadians find information on current and completed federal impact assessments.
The Registry contains information and records about impact assessments. The Registry consists of two parts:

• an Internet site containing key information about impact assessments, and
• project files containing all records produced, collected or submitted with respect to an impact assessment.