The Mitigation Hierarchy in Federal Policy in Canada: A Call for Coherence and Consistency

36 Pages Posted: 31 Jan 2026 Poulton Environmental Strategies Inc.; University of Alberta; University of Queensland - Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science Wildlife Conservation Society Canada Date Written: November 17, 2025 Canada us standing at a crossroads of a need to accelerate a more independent economic growth and meet commitments to halt a reverse biodiversity loss. One key tool in reconciling these vital interests is impact assessment and mitigation guided by the mitigation hierarchy: avoid, minimize, remediate and - as a last resort - offset. Canadian federal policy has seven expressions of the hierarchy (and two more that have not been finalized), but those expressions are not entirely consistent. This can cause confusion in inter-agency cooperation. More importantly, the situation can be seen to signify Canada's casual and uncoordinated approach to biodiversity protection. We call for the Government of Canada to develop a unified federal position on mitigating impacts to biodiversity that highlights to mitigation hierarchy as a norm across the government. Keywords: Canada, Mitigation Hierarchy, Policy, Consistency of policy, Biodiversity protection, Biodiversity offsetting, Avoidance Declaration of Interest None Ethics Approval The interview component of this study was carried out pursuant to approval from the University of Queensland. Funder Statement This work was funded in part by the Policy Dialogue program of the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada. Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation 734 21 Avenue N.W. Calgary, Alberta T2M 1K2 Canada Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2R3 Canada Brisbane Australia Toronto Canada Politics & Energy eJournal Subscribe to this fee journal for more curated articles on this topic Environmental Economics eJournal Subscribe to this fee journal for more curated articles on this topic Social Entrepreneurship eJournal Subscribe to this fee journal for more curated articles on this topic Sustainability Law & Policy eJournal Subscribe to this free journal for more curated articles on this topic Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Research Hub eJournal Subscribe to this free journal for more curated articles on this topic Environmental Law & Policy eJournal Subscribe to this fee journal for more curated articles on this topic Natural Resources Law & Policy eJournal Subscribe to this fee journal for more curated articles on this topic Biodiversity eJournal Subscribe to this free journal for more curated articles on this topic