Canada Proposes Sweeping Changes to Federal Impact Assessment—Again.

At SVS, we have been watching the pendulum swing on federal impact assessment law and policy for the last 14 years—ever since our company was founded. From the Harper Conservatives’ curtailing of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act in 2012, to the long set of hearings about strengthening environmental legislation in the early days of the Trudeau Liberals culminating in the current Impact Assessment Act of 2019, to the present-day rollback of impact assessment requirements for major projects under Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Now federal impact assessment change is accelerating again. Enter the latest discussion paper and consultation process from Canada, Getting Major Projects Built in Canada - Discussion Paper on Proposed Legislative, Regulatory, and Policy Reforms.

Comments are due no later than Sunday, June 7, 2026 (instructions on how to comment on the Discussion Paper are provided below). 

Read on for what is being proposed and how you can engage.

Changes that are being proposed

In the recently released discussion paper, Canada is proposing broader, more sweeping changes to the Impact Assessment Act and policy for all projects requiring a federal impact assessment. In other words, these changes would go beyond those proposed in Bill C-5 for the narrower list of designated projects of national interest under the Building Canada Act. Canada is now proposing the following structural changes:

1. Federal review and decision-making on a timeline of no more than one year for all impact assessments of designated projects. This one-year period would occur after a project proponent’s submission of their assessment of impacts (the impact statement).
2. One Crown consultation process through the creation of what is being called a Crown Consultation Hub within the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada.
3. One project decision, where the Minister of Environment, Conservation and Nature would issue both an impact assessment decision and a decision on all federal permits and authorizations at the same time.
4. Single project authority, where impact assessments for designated projects under the Canada Energy Regulator (major pipelines and transmission lines), and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (nuclear projects, nuclear waste disposal, and uranium mines) would be led by those independent agencies, and not by the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada.
5. Enable economic zones through regional impact assessments, where any area having had a regional impact assessment in advance of new major projects could be designated an economic zone that would have even more streamlined impact assessments, or potentially none at all.
6. Streamlined and efficient regulatory environment, involving a longer list of changes to streamline decisions, and giving federal decision-makers new powers to change or downgrade project conditions of approval or exempt projects from certain permits or other requirements.
   
   

Concerns about the proposed changes

Canada insists, as it has elsewhere, that these changes will not affect the duty to consult Indigenous peoples, nor jurisdictions where Indigenous co-decision making is required such as the NWT. It is also possible that Indigenous governments who already have strong capacity, industry partnerships, and decision-making systems may actually benefit from some or all of these changes (a reason we’ve been blogging lately about the importance of major project readiness).

At SVS we are concerned about how these changes may affect not only environmental protection, but also undermine the conditions that have allowed strong and meaningful Indigenous accommodation measures and even consent for development, through measures such as impact-benefit agreements. Along with Indigenous communities, Canada and proponents have benefited from the legal and contractual certainty that such agreements and protections provide.

Instructions to comment on the Discussion Paper

Instructions to Comment on the Discussion Paper

Canada provides the following instructions: Engagement: Supporting timely-decision-making for major projects - One Canadian Economy - Canada.ca:

• Read the proposal
• Prepare answers to questions outlined below
• Email your feedback to engagement@pco-bcp.gc.ca by June 7, 2026

Please provide a rationale and/or evidence for your input, wherever possible.

Shared Value Solutions Can Help!

If you need support to prepare a response to the Discussion Paper, we are here to help! Contact us at info@sharedvaluesolutions.com / 226-706-8888 for more information.

About the authors:

Scott Mackay MSc, RPP

Managing Partner and Senior Consultant

Learn more about Scott here.

Meaghan Luis, MSc Pl RPP

Senior Environmental Assessment and Negotiations Specialist

Learn more about Meaghan here.

Meghan Dalrymple, MA

Senior Environmental Assessment Specialist

Learn more about Meghan here.