Federal impact assessment in Canada: from full retreat to total abdication?

Canada’s federal impact assessment regime is undergoing significant weakening through shortened timelines, reduced application and narrow scope. These changes represent an acceleration of rollbacks that were introduced in 2012. Driven by geopolitical risks and domestic economic pressures, the recent policy shifts prioritize fast-tracking major project approvals at the federal level of government and in some provinces. This article examines recent law and policy changes, including the new Building Canada Act, a law aimed at fast-tracking projects deemed to be in the ‘national interest.’ It also describes how the federal Impact Assessment Act is being curtailed through implementation and policy measures, as well as concurrent shifts and weakening in sub-national impact assessment regimes also aimed at expediting major projects. The article explains how back-sliding toward fragmented, expedited processes risks undermining Indigenous rights, public confidence, and ability to meet international obligations regarding transboundary environmental effects. Overall, the analysis concludes that these unprecedented changes constitute a near-total abdication of federal impact assessment as a planning tool for informed decision-making and heighten the probability of negative environmental consequences and increased litigation.