Introduction

Impact assessment is a development planning tool targeting sustainable use of resources and lands. Prior to the implementation of development projects, impact assessment examines and analyzes all the factors that influence ecosystems, resources and the quality of life of the concerned communities. Public information and consultation mechanisms ensure that it considers the rights, values and concerns of individuals, groups and communities. Impact assessment aims to improve development project designs while mitigating (or even eliminating) any negative impacts and enhancing positive impacts on the human and biophysical environments.

Pursuant to the legislation and regulations applicable in Nunavik, project proponents planning work that is likely to significantly modify the environment must prepare descriptions of their projects and their potential environmental and social impacts. Following analysis of this information, the responsible bodies decide on whether one or more authorizations are required and, if applicable, whether these will contain specific conditions.

In Nunavik, impact assessments are framed by processes provided for in various land use agreements as well as from federal and provincial legislation. As such, numerous impact assessment processes may be triggered by a project, depending on its nature, jurisdiction as well as activities and impacts.

Given their complexity and diversity, the KEAC feels it is important to strengthen the understanding of impact assessment procedures applicable in Nunavik. It also encourages public participation in the early stages of any project and at the onset of any impact assessment process, to ensure local and regional input and concerns are considered.

Four Impact Assessment Procedures in Nunavik

In Nunavik, up to four impact assessment procedures may be applicable to development projects:

1. The provincial procedure under the James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement;
2. The federal procedure under the James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement;
3. The federal procedure under the Impact Assessment Act;
4. The procedure under the Nunavik Inuit Land Claims Agreement.

 

*Interactive version coming soon!

Impact Assessment Processes for Overlapping Jurisdictions in Nunavik

In offshore areas where Nunavik Inuit share rights and responsibilities with the Crees of Eeyou Istchee and the Inuit of Nunavut, four land-use planning and impact assessment bodies have been created by the NILCA to play a role in impact assessments. In the Joint Zone of the Offshore Overlapping Area of Interests, the Nunavik Marine Region Planning Commission (NMRPC) (https://nmrpc.ca/) and the Nunavik Marine Region Impact Review Board (NMRIRB) (https://www.nmrirb.ca/) play their role equally and jointly with their Cree counterparts, the Eeyou Marine Region Planning Commission and the Eeyou Marine Region Impact Review Board. In the Areas of Equal Use and Occupancy, the NMRPC and NMRIRB’s counterparts for the Inuit of Nunavut are the Nunavut Planning Commission and the Nunavut Impact Review Board.

Multiplication of Impact Assessment Procedures

The KEAC is concerned that, for some development projects in Nunavik, many impact assessment procedures may be applicable. The KEAC monitors the implementation of these procedures by the responsible review bodies and, over the years, has prepared feedback on the topic:

• Letter – Environmental assessment applicable to the Hopes Advance iron mining project (February 2016)
• Position paper – Overlapping environmental assessment procedures in Nunavik (March 2002)

In 2017 the KEAC developed the Reference Guide on Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Procedures Applicable in Nunavik. It clearly describes each of the four impact assessment procedures that can be applied to development projects in Nunavik, with particular focus on public participation. For each procedure, a short description, a flowchart and a detailed step-by-step chart are provided, as well as the contact information for the concerned review bodies.

The guide was updated in 2019, but since then the federal government has enacted the Impact Assessment Act. Although the general information concerning impact assessment in Nunavik and processes under the JBNQA and NILCA are still accurate, the section specific to the IAA will need to be revised to better represent the 2024 modifications to the federal legislation.

Regional Working Group

In 2020, representatives from the KEAC, Makivvik, and the Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach formed a Working Group (WG) to review the implementation of the 2019 federal Impact Assessment Act (IAA) and address the multiplication of environmental impact assessment processes applicable within Nunavik, where Treaty-based environmental assessments already exist through the JBNQA, the Northeastern Québec Agreement (NEQA) and the NILCA.

As a first milestone, in November 2020, the WG drafted a report, which set the grounds for thorough analysis of the IAA by outlining the treaty processes, the concerned parties involved, the history of impact assessment harmonization attempts and subsequent successes and challenges observed. The WG then undertook an analysis of the treaties processes and the new federal legislation and what tools can be applied to support coordinated efforts in Nunavik. The WG produced a report in April 2022 which laid out its analysis methodology, evaluation of the harmonization tools within the IAA and those which were deemed as the most suitable options for Nunavik as well as recommendations for additional harmonization and collaborative efforts to complement the impact assessment processes.

Consideration for Social Impacts

In 2017, the KEAC initiated an examination of the social impact assessment practices applied to development projects subject to any of the four environmental assessment processes applicable in Nunavik. The goal was to produce a comparative review of the scope of these practices under the processes, to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each process, and to prepare recommendations for authorities responsible for the application and implementation of the processes. To this end, the KEAC commissioned the Secrétariat international francophone pour l’évaluation environnementale (international francophone secretariat for environmental assessment, SIFÉE) to study how social impact assessment is carried out under the four environmental assessment processes applicable in Nunavik. This project lead to the creation of three documents: the full study, an easy-to-read summary and a presentation. Note that the results, recommendations and analyses contained in the current document are the author’s own work and not official KEAC recommendations.