Cumulative Effects Assessment and Environmental Management

Registration

Welcome and Opening Remarks from the Conference Co-Chairs

Diana Audino
Senior Legal Counsel, Indigenous Law
Enbridge

Sheldon Wuttunee
President/CEO
Saskatchewan First Nations Natural Resource Centre of Excellence

Deep Dive into the Landmark Blueberry River Decision. Short and Long Term Impact for First Nation Oversight and Management of Cumulative Impacts

Sander Duncanson
Partner
Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP

“That persistent reality [of industrial development] has contributed to a compilation of adverse effects — or as is said — ‘death by a thousand cuts.’” – Justice Emily Burke of the British Columbia Supreme Court, in Yahey v. British Columbia, 2021 (BCSC 1287), June 29, 2021.

• Summary of the decision and navigating the legal implications – understanding cumulative impacts on Treaty rights and what it takes to uphold those rights
• What’s next – determining what’s needed to negotiate new mechanisms to assess and manage the cumulative impacts of industrial developments on Blueberry’s treaty rights and to ensure these rights are respected
• How to develop a new ecologically responsible cumulative effects regulatory regime that respects Blueberry River First Nations – What will it look like?
• Lessons Learned: Implications for future infrastructure development throughout Canada and how to navigate the future development of the duty to consult and accommodate and other practices

Regional Assessments Under the Impact Assessment Act – Priorities and What to Expect

Steve Bonnell
Manager, Strategic & Regional Assessments
Impact Assessment Agency of Canada

• Overview of the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada’s national Regional Assessment program
• Discussion of the role and benefits of regional assessments in assessing and addressing cumulative effects
• Key considerations and lessons learned related to how cumulative effects are addressed in regional assessments, based on the following case studies:
  • Eastern Newfoundland Offshore Exploratory Drilling
  • Ring of Fire Area, Northern Ontario
  • St. Lawrence River
• What are the next steps?

Networking Refreshment Break

10 Years in the Making – How is Alberta Preparing for Cumulative Effects Management, Monitoring and Mitigating?

Mike Evans
Senior Manager, Government and Industry Relations
Fort McKay First Nations

• LARP (Lower Athabasca Regional Plan) – Determining the relevancy and effectiveness of the plan in light of existing gaps and failure to develop frameworks within the LARP
• How to navigate the latest decisions – Moose Lake Access Management Plan, Blueberry River and how this will change regional plans
• What’s next for the Athabasca regional plans? Opportunities to take lessons learned and improve upon how to manage, mitigate and monitor Cumulative Effects for the next 10 years

Industry Think Tank: How Private Sector is Addressing Cumulative Effects Management

Sarah Coughlin
Senior Environmental Specialist, Licensing & Environmental Assessment
Manitoba Hydro

• Working proactively with stakeholders for project approvals to achieve responsible resource development

Networking Lunch Break

Incorporating Indigenous Knowledge (IK) into Environmental Assessments and Regulatory Processes

Adam Levine
Team Leader, Indigenous Relations and Participation Funding
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission

Paul-Antoine Cardin
Technical and Policy Advisor
Indigenous Centre of Expertise for Cumulative Effects Assessment and Management

• Understanding how Indigenous Knowledge can be meaningfully incorporated into both environmental assessments and regulatory processes for major projects
• How to effectively and respectfully bring together western science with Indigenous Knowledge as part of the regulatory approvals process and throughout the life-cycle of a project

Census of Environment: Increasing our Knowledge of Canada’s Ecosystems and Delivering Insight Through Data for a Better Canada

Carolyn Cahill
Director, Environment and Energy Statistics
Statistics Canada, Government of Canada

• Determining the importance of the Census of Environment
• Understanding the key component of the program
• Discussing the kind of new ecosystem information to be produced by the CoE
• What’s next? Highlighting deliverable and activities in year one and coming years

Networking Refreshment Break

Findings from the Environmental Stewardship Initiative in BC – What Can the Rest of Canada Learn from this?

Carly Coccola
Manager, Collaborative Indigenous Stewardship Framework, Ministry of Land, Water, and Resource Stewardship
Government of British Columbia

Maya Paul
Program Director, Cumulative Effects (CE) Strategic Initiatives
North Coast-Skeena First Nations Stewardship Society

The Environmental Stewardship Initiative (ESI) is an innovative form of collaboration and partnership between the Province and First Nations, designed to produce high-quality, accessible, and trusted environmental information.

• Overview of the program – what has been achieved? How has the initiative worked? What challenges and opportunities have developed?
• What’s next for the program and moving forward?
• Recommendations and lessons learned – can this be adapted to other regions across Canada?

Update on Federal and Provincial Initiative for Regional and Strategic Effects Assessments: What are the Main Expectations of Government and Where Does Industry go Wrong?

Selina Lee-Andersen
Partner
McCarthy Tetrault

• Distinguishing between cumulative effects assessments, regional effects assessments and strategic effects assessments
• Understanding the role of regional and strategic effects assessments in federal and provincial regulatory review processes
• Determining the regulatory frameworks for regional and strategic effects assessments
• Integrating broader sustainability considerations into regional policies, plans and programs
• How to address information gaps and establish regional-based metrics and monitoring programs

Day 1 Conference Adjourns

Re-Cap and Co-Chair Welcome Remarks

Assessing Cumulative Effects of Project Amendments and Extensions: Cumulative Baselines and Creeping Baselines

Alan Ehrlich
Manager of Environmental Impact Assessment
Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board

Amendments and extensions to existing projects are increasingly common and pose unique challenges for cumulative effects assessment.

• How should an EIA identify the right baseline for assessing cumulative effects for a project proposed on a site that is already industrialized?
• How can you deal with creeping baselines, when the degraded environment becomes familiar and the original setting is gradually forgotten?
• How should societal values, which can change over time, be best considered when weighing the significance of the cumulative effects?
• How does Indigenous Traditional Knowledge fit into the mix?

This talk will explore these questions, conceptually and practically, referring to recent case studies in the Canadian north.

Northwest Territories Cumulative Impact Monitoring Program

Lorraine Brekke
Manager, NWT Cumulative Impact Monitoring Program (NWT CIMP), Environmental Stewardship and Climate Change Division
Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories

This presentation will introduce the Northwest Territories Cumulative Impact Monitoring Program (NWT CIMP)

• Community engagement on monitoring and research projects
• Supporting northern communities in environmental monitoring

Networking Refreshment Break

Human Environment – How to Incorporate Health, Economic and Social Impact in Your Cumulative Assessment

Kate Mansfield
Senior Policy Advisor
Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board

Cumulative Effects not only impact the environment – land, water, wildlife, etc, but addressing cumulative impacts on health and well-being needs to be reviewed and understood as well. It demands a shift in how we understand and act.

• Understanding how proposed development may impact on well-being and way of life and navigating how it should be a key focus of any impact assessment process
• Case studies on how well-being was considered in recent environmental impact assessments on resources development projects

10 Years In – Perspective on the Future of Cumulative Effects Assessment and Management

Barry Wilson
Systems Ecologist & Principal
CE Analytic Ltd.

Chris Joseph
Principal
Swift Creek Consulting

Since CI’s Inaugural Cumulative Effects Conference, there has been many striking decisions and practices in the world of CEAM. Experts in the field will look at key lessons learned from the past and strategies for the future.

• How can cumulative effects management be designed in a more robust and inclusive fashion that becomes easier for all of the industries to support?

Conference Concludes