Moving away from self-assessment : Pour s'éloigner de l'approche d'auto-évaluation : document de travail

This requires an understanding of the meaning of “responsible authority” and the role of the RA, as well as the roles of the Minister of the Environment and the federal Cabinet in the different types of assessment. [...] In the case of the relatively small number of assessments subject to comprehensive study, the Minister of the Environment has somewhat more input into the quality of the comprehensive study report than in the case of screenings, but the ultimate decision usually remains with the responsible authority. [...] According to the comprehensive study process in place since the 2003 amendments to the Act, where a project is listed on the comprehensive study list, the RA is required to “ensure public consultation with respect to the proposed scope of the project for the purposes of the EA, the factors proposed to be considered in its assessment, the proposed scope of those factors and the ability of the compr [...] The RA must then report to the Minister regarding the scope of project, scope of assessment, public concerns, the project’s potential to cause adverse environmental effects (not limited to “significant” effects), and “the ability of the Moving Away from Self Assessment  4 In the case of the very small number of federal EAs that are subject to assessment by a review panel, the review panel’s recomm [...] The Federal Court of Appeal decision, in favour of the federal government, has had the result of RAs across the federal government making scope of project decisions in such a way that the project is assessed by way of a screening rather than by comprehensive study.