Process FAQ

The Review Guidelines are laid out as follows:

• Section 2 identifies the goals, authorities and mandate provided by the IFA to the Review Board;
• Section 3 describes the transition between the initial Environmental Impact Screening and subsequent (if necessary) Environmental Impact Review processes in the ISR;
• Section 4 outlines principles underlying and steps involved in the six-phase Environmental Impact Review process, along with the roles and responsibilities of parties within this process; and
• Section 5 discusses general and specific information requirements of Environmental Impact Reviews, with specific emphasis on information the Developer needs to include in its Environmental Impact Statement.

Appendices to the Review Guidelines include:

Appendix A, which lists a number of organizations in the ISR and North Slope Yukon that may get involved in an environmental impact review, and their contact information.

Appendix B, which identifies where in the Review Guidelines factors required for consideration in the 2019 federal Impact Assessment Act are discussed. See Section 4.4.4 for more discussion on transboundary considerations.

These Review Guidelines are part of a larger package of guidance developed for EIRB. Of particular note, the Rules of Procedure for the Environmental Impact Review Process of the Inuvialuit Final Agreement (the Rules) provides more detailed information on the procedural framework within which the EIRB operates and on how the Developer and other Parties to an EIR Proceeding can formally participate. All Parties should make themselves familiar with those Rules.

The Developer must demonstrate knowledge of the following in relation to the proposed development and to demonstrate this understanding in its submissions to the environmental impact review process: 

• Technical knowledge and understanding of the development and what is required to successfully complete the development. 
• Technical knowledge and understanding of the proposed physical, biophysical and human environment settings and trends where the development would occur and what is proposed to reduce or eliminate potential adverse effects. 

• An understanding of the traditional and cultural environments associated with the affected area. 
• Knowledge and understanding of any issues and concerns raised by potentially affected groups and Parties to the Proceeding, including communities, competent authorities and other reviewers, and an indication of how these issues and concerns have been addressed in the EIS and how they will be addressed if the development were to proceed. 

• Knowledge of the Developer’s responsibilities with respect to the environmental impact review process and regulatory obligations. 
• Knowledge and understanding of how the proposed development may affect the various land categories identified in a community’s Community Conservation Plan and impact on candidate or existing protected areas. 

• Knowledge and understanding of how the proposed development may affect the ecological context and conditions, and wildlife, wildlife habitat and wildlife harvesting. 
• Details of any compensation being proposed for any significant negative impacts on present or future wildlife harvesting. 

• Knowledge and understanding of how the proposed development may affect Inuvialuit individuals’, communities’ and regions’ social, economic and cultural well-being and quality of life. 
• Details of how the proposed development will contribute to sustainable development. 

Inuvialuit organizations and various government departments and agencies may also be essential to assist the Developer in fulfilling its roles and responsibilities. The Developer must demonstrate it has appropriately engaged with the appropriate Inuvialuit organizations and government departments and agencies. See Section 5.1.1 for Review Board expectations re: Developer engagement with Parties. 

A variety of Federal and Territorial Government Agencies have responsibilities to bring forward information during an environmental impact review. These Agencies may have a regulatory role, where they issue permits, licences or other authorizations required for the development to proceed, or have expert information on or mandated protection/promotion responsibilities for a valued component or both. 

It is the Review Board’s view that each Government Agency will engage in the environmental impact review process in a manner that is aligned with its departmental responsibilities. 

In certain instances, a government may be the proponent of the development, as well as meeting some of the governmental responsibilities identified above. It is the Review Board’s view that in such instances, the individual departments involved in regulating, VC protection/promotion, or expert advice provision in relation to the development, will continue to engage in the environmental impact review process in a manner that is aligned with its departmental knowledge and mandate.

There are several organizations and boards that may contribute to the ISR’s environmental impact review process. These organizations and boards may also have information crucial to a Developer for the planning, design and implementation of a development proposal or related to the issuance of some form of authorization for development proposals.

Many of these organizations and boards will provide input to the environmental impact review process and are available to provide advice to a Developer planning to carry out activities in the ISR. Appendix A includes a list of some key organizations and institutions that are commonly involved in environmental impact review in the ISR.

The EIR Coordinator will forward a copy of these Review Guidelines to the Developer and arrange a face-to-face or virtual meeting to explain the Review Guidelines and to answer any questions about the environmental impact review process. Additional meetings will be held when deemed necessary.

The EIRB Board Members may not meet with the Developer or any Parties once the referral has been received. The EIRB will put a “Note to File” on the public registry summarizing any staff meeting with any developer or any parties in relation to an environmental impact review. 

The EIR Coordinator will: 

• Establish a specific file on the EIRB On-line Registry website for the review of the development proposal; 
• Publish a Public Notice of Referral; and 
• Post the Project Description submission and all of the information in the EISC referral package on the EIRB On-line Registry website. 

The public registry will include all documents relating to the environmental impact review. The public registry consists of the public record for the environmental impact review, which is the information that the Review Board considers when making its decisions. Items produced after the close of the public record, including the Review Board’s Environmental Impact Review Report, are still placed on the public registry. Most of the documents on the public registry will also be placed online unless a Party provides information to the Review Board under confidential cover. For more information on confidentiality requests, see Section 1.6 of the Rules. 

The Public Notice of Referral will also be published in other local media formats (e.g., television, newspaper, radio, internet).

The Public Notice will invite organizations and individuals to register as Parties to the Proceeding, in accordance with Section 2.2 of the Rules. The Developer does not need to register as they are automatically a Party to the Proceeding. All organizations and individuals who register as a Party will be placed on the EIRB distribution list to receive documents relevant to the environmental impact review. Each Party is responsible for keeping itself apprised of the process stages, timelines and documents filed on the public record during the course of the EIR. Organizations and individuals may register for Party status at any time up to the Pre-Hearing Conference. 

Participant funding may be made available through Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada’s Northern Participant Funding Program, or, as relevant, other federal funding programs such as the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada’s Participant Funding Program.. 

Groups or individuals do not need to be Parties to the Proceeding in order to file documents with the Review Board on the public record or make a statement at an oral hearing. Submissions from Members of the Public will be accepted by the Review Board as per the Rules.