STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT MARCH 26, 2012

1. STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT MARCH 26, 2012

2. OVERVIEW • Strategic Environmental Assessment (Strategic EA): Introduction • Cabinet Directive on Strategic EA • Strategic EAs under Cabinet Directive • Strategic EA: Farm Income Protection Act • Legislating Strategic EA

3. STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT: DEFINITIONS • “The systematic and comprehensive process of evaluating the environmental effects of a policy, plan or program and its alternatives” Cabinet Directive p. 13 • “Seeks to incorporate environmental considerations into the development of public policies and strategic decisions” Cabinet Directive p. 2

4. STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT: DEFINITIONS • “The evaluation of likely environmental, including health effects, which comprises determination of the scope of an environmental report and its preparation, carrying-out of public participation and consultations, and taking into account of the environmental report and results of public participation and consultations in a plan or programme” Strategic EA Protocol Art. 2 • Trend toward including economic and social, as well as environmental, considerations

5. STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT Strategic EAs can include assessment of: • An industry sector, region, policy, plan, program (oil sands in northern Alberta) • First proposed project to introduce new technology in region (tidal energy) • International agreements (free trade) • Identified environmental/sustainable development challenge (energy policy) • Respond to policy gap in project EA

6. STRATEGIC EA PRINCIPLES • Integrated • Sustainability-led • Focused • Accountable • Participative • Iterative • Identify future outcomes • Consider alternatives

7. STRATEGIC EA LEGAL, POLICY FRAMEWORKS • Strategic Environmental Assessment Protocol • Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals (federal) • Farm Income Protection Act • Provinces lack SEA laws/policies (note Ontario Environmental Bill of rights) • European Union 2001 SEA Directive

8. STRATEGIC EA PROTOCOL • Protocol to Espoo Convention • Adopted 2003, entered into force 2010 • Canada not signatory • Requires Parties to evaluate environmental consequences of official draft plans and programs • Provides for public participation in government decision-making in numerous development sectors

9. STRATEGIC EA PROTOCOL • Public has the right to know about plans and programs, comment, have comments taken into account, be told of final decision and why it was taken • Parties requested to inform each other about plans/programs having significant transboundary environmental effects • If such effects, developing Party has notification obligation and affected public has comment rights

10. CABINET DIRECTIVE ON STRATEGIC EA • Strategic EA originally included in 1984 EARP Guidelines Order • Cabinet Directive issued in 1990 to complement CEAA project EA • Amended 1999, 2004 • Not legally binding but issuance by Privy Council Office carries weight

11. CABINET DIRECTIVE ON STRATEGIC EA • “Strong commitment to sustainable development” • Ministers expect a strategic EA whenever a proposal: • “may result in important environmental effects” • “is submitted to an individual Minister or Cabinet for approval” • What does “expect” mean? • “Important” vs. “Significant”?

12. CABINET DIRECTIVE ON STRATEGIC EA • Ministers also expect strategic EA to consider: • Scope and nature of likely environmental effects • Need for mitigation • Likely importance of environmental effects • Strategic EA to contribute to development of policies, programs, plans on “an equal basis with economic and social analysis”

13. CABINET DIRECTIVE ON STRATEGIC EA • “Level of effort” to be “commensurate with level of anticipated environmental effects” • Environmental analysis to be integrated into each option • Use “existing mechanisms” to involve public, “as appropriate” • Prepare “public statement of environmental effects” when “detailed assessment” conducted

14. CABINET DIRECTIVE GUIDELINES Benefits of applying Cabinet Directive: • Optimize positive, minimize or mitigate negative effects • Consider potential cumulative effects • Implement Federal Sustainable Development Strategy • Save time and money (liability for clean-ups, other unforeseen concerns) • Streamline project-level assessment • Promote accountability

15. CABINET DIRECTIVE PROCESS • Determine applicability • Conduct preliminary scan • Analyze environmental effects, including public and stakeholder concerns • Document and report

16. STRATEGIC EA FARM INCOME PROTECTION ACT 1991 • S.4.(2) “Any program established under FIPA should encourage long-term environmental and economic stability” • S.5.(2) An agreement with respect to any program shall, . . . (b) require an environmental assessment of the program to be conducted within two years . . . of the agreement and every five years thereafter,”

17. STRATEGIC EA FARM INCOME PROTECTION ACT 1991 • Strategic EAs conduced for following programs: • Gross Revenue Insurance Program • Federal-Provincial Crop Insurance Program • Net Income Stabilization Account • Western Grain Transportation Act Amendments • Branch Rail Line Abandonment in Western Canada

18. STRATEGIC EA FARM INCOME PROTECTION ACT 1991 • Key difference with Cabinet Directive Strategic EAs conducted after introduction of program • Benefits • Cabinet confidentiality not an issue • Better data on environmental effects • Full reports public accessible • Key insight: most policies, programs, plans are iterative, annual or cyclical

19. CABINET DIRECTIVE EFFECTIVENESS • “Cabinet Directive does little more than communicate a general expectation to identify and consider environmental consequences of major decisions at the federal level on par with social and economic factors” Doelle p. 195

20. 2004 AUDIT ENVIRONMENT COMMISSIONER • Level of commitment to and compliance with Cabinet Directive was low • Few strategic EAs conducted • Completeness varied • Tracking was inadequate • Insufficient commitment by management • No central responsibility for compliance and quality control

21. 2004 AUDIT ENVIRONMENT COMMISSIONER • Limited integration of results into decision-making • Few Strategic EAs made available to public • Even fewer involved the public in Strategic EA process

22. PUBLIC STATEMENTS UNDER CABINET DIRECTIVE • CEA Agency website includes hundreds of public statements produced by 7 federal departments (e.g., CIDA, Environment, Finance, Parks Canada) since 2004 • At least some Public Statements indicate public has been consulted • Data and analysis remain confidential • Marmot Basin Public Statement

23. STRATEGIC EA OF BUDGETS • Green Budget Coalition recommended that selected fiscal measures in 2003 federal budget undergo Strategic EA • Avoid Cabinet and budget confidentiality issues by undertaking SEAs after budget released • Met with Clerk of Privy Council (Alex Himmelfarb), who was enthusiastic

24. STRATEGIC EA OF BUDGETS • Recent budgets include modest public statements of environmental effects for specific budget provisions • Budget 2011 • Extension of 15% Mineral Exploration Tax Credit for flow-through shares investors • Expansion of accelerated capital cost allowance Class 43.2 to include equipment that generates electricity using waste heat • Extending qualifying environmental trust rules to pipelines

25. OTHER STRATEGIC EAS • Tidal Energy in Bay of Fundy • Free Trade Agreements (e.g., NAFTA) • Nuclear Fuel Waste Management and Disposal Concept Panel Review

26. LEGISLATING STRATEGIC EA • House of Commons Environment Committee June 2003 report • Recommended that Privy Council Office develop legislation establishing a legal framework for Strategic EA • Government response was to refer Strategic EA issue to CEAA Regulatory Advisory Committee • Report completed but never tabled (RAC in limbo)