ABSTRACT
Through the imposition of explicit criteria and rules to guide the public interest decision, this chapter outlines the objectives that are likely to be actualized in impact assessments, rather than remaining aspirational. Environmental impact assessment (EIA) has a long history in Canada. In particular, EIA has overwhelmingly been used as a process for making projects a little less harmful and for finding justification for residual adverse impacts, regardless of their distribution. The chapter explores several of the Impact Assessment Act's deficiencies, which impose obstacles to equitable outcomes informed by Indigenous and community knowledge and an intersectional lens. As Leah Levac, Jane Stinson, and Deborah Stienstra note, Indigenous women must be involved in all stages of environmental decision making, and upholding Indigenous rights and authority in impact assessment processes and decisions is a foundational step towards decolonizing environmental planning and management in Canada.
