Unit 5

Legislated Environmental Assessment at the Provincial Level in Canada

In this unit, we examine the legislated environmental assessment processes of the provincial governments of Alberta and Ontario, with some reference to the processes of other provincial administrations. We consider the conditions under which the process comes into play, and analyse their strengths and weaknesses in the light of the principles enunciated in earlier units.

Objectives

After completing this unit, you should be able to

1. outline the legislated environmental process of the Alberta and Ontario provincial governments, and define key terms associated with those processes.
2. identify the circumstances under which a environmental assessment is required in Ontario and Alberta.
3. describe the weaknesses of provincial EA legislation in Canada.
4. describe the weaknesses of the Alberta and Ontario EA processes, and explain how they fall short of good EA.