Environmental Assessment Office — Continued

Report on Performance

Service Plan Goal Changes Summary

Table 4 summarizes the changes made to the Environmental Assessment Office's goals and objectives. The left-hand column reflects the goals and objectives in the September  2005/06 – 2007/08 Service Plan Update. The right-hand column reflects the goals and objectives in the February 2006/07 – 2008/09 Service Plan.

Table 4. Changes to the Environmental Assessment Office's Goals and Objectives in 2005/06

Table 5 presents the changes to the Environmental Assessment Office's performance measures by goal. The performance measures from the September 2005/06 – 2007/08 Service Plan Update appear in the left-hand column; those from the February 2006/07 – 2008/09 Service Plan appear in the right-hand column. Review of key priorities in relation to the government's Great Goals resulted in three possible outcomes: the performance measure remained unchanged; the measure was revised; or the measure was discontinued. Discontinued performance measures are reported in Appendix L.

Table 5. Changes to the Environmental Assessment Office's Performance Measures in 2005/06

Performance Plan Summary Table

Table 6. Synopsis of Environmental Assessment Office Performance Measure Results

New performance measures will be reported on in the 06/07 Annual Service Plan Report.

Goals, Objectives, Strategies and Performance Measures

Goal 1

Environmental assessment reports and recommendations are comprehensive and timely

Ministers require timely, high quality information, analysis and recommendations about the potential effects of a project to decide whether to issue an environmental assessment certificate. The Environmental Assessment Office recognizes that to assess the impacts of a project, information in applications for environmental assessment certificates must be complete and thorough. Also key is meaningful consultation with First Nations to identify and address potential effects to First Nations' interests. The Environmental Assessment Office will report its performance against this goal in the Annual Service Plan Report for 2006/07.

Objective 1

Applications for environmental assessment certificates are complete and thorough

The Environmental Assessment Office works closely with government agencies, First Nations and proponents to determine the information required from a proponent (known as an application for an environmental assessment certificate) to assess the potential environmental, economic, social, health and heritage effects of a project. The Environmental Assessment Office also assesses the adequacy of a proponent's proposed plans for consulting the public and First Nations during the application review. These measures help ensure the proponent's application is complete so the process can proceed in a timely manner.

Strategies

The Environmental Assessment Office sets out, in Terms of Reference issued to a proponent, the information required for an application for an environmental assessment certificate and carefully screens all applications to ensure they contain all information necessary for a thorough assessment of the potential effects of the project.

Performance Measure

Percentage of application reviews completed within 180 days

Rationale for the Performance Measure

Legislated time limits in the Environmental Assessment Act, including a 180-day limit for review of applications for environmental assessment certificates, offer greater process certainty and are important for effective planning and decision-making. The Environmental Assessment Office carefully monitors whether legislated time limits are met.

Achievements and Key Issues

Whistler Nordic Centre, Orca Sand and Gravel, Canada Line and Red Chris Porphyry Copper-Gold Mine were all subject to the Environmental Assessment Act and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, and the Environmental Assessment Office worked closely with federal counterparts to harmonize the review process. For the review of the Red Chris Porphyry Copper-Gold Mine, the Environmental Assessment Office extended the legislated time limits by six days to allow sufficient time to resolve a First Nation's concern.

The Environmental Assessment Office works with First Nations to facilitate their involvement in project reviews to ensure potential impacts on First Nations' asserted Aboriginal rights and title are identified and addressed through meaningful consultation and accommodation (where indicated) in accordance with applicable policy and law requirements. The Environmental Assessment Office provides funding for First Nations' participation and invites First Nations to comment on key assessment documents and reports, and participate in technical working group meetings to discuss and resolve issues.

Goal 2

The environmental assessment process is clear and streamlined

The environmental assessment of major projects must preserve high environmental standards, offer process certainty to proponents, be competitive with other jurisdictions and be accessible to all levels of government and stakeholders. To meet the goal of an environmental assessment process that is clear and streamlined, the Environmental Assessment Office set two objectives: (1) an environmental assessment process that is easy to follow and (2) harmonization with the federal government.

Objective 1

The environmental assessment process is easy to follow

The Environmental Assessment Office seeks to continually improve the environmental assessment process through the development of tools to improve proponents', First Nations', and the public's understanding of the process and assist with the preparation of assessment documentation. Efforts are also made to enhance public information about the environmental assessment process and provide access to information about project reviews as they proceed.

Strategies

Strategies for this objective include the drafting of sector specific guidelines for each project category and a proponents' guide to the environmental assessment process as well as publications and tools for increased public understanding of the process and how to participate.

Performance Measure

Proponents' overall level of satisfaction with the review process

Rationale for the Performance Measure

The Environmental Assessment Office values client feedback for continuous improvement and to gauge whether proponents find the environmental process clear and easy to follow. Environmental assessments require significant human and financial resources from proponents and government. The best use of these resources depends on a process that is clear.

Objective 2

Harmonized federal/provincial assessment processes

In 2004, British Columbia and Canada renewed the Canada/British Columbia Agreement on Environmental Assessment Cooperation. The agreement is designed to achieve government cooperation, efficient and effective use of public and private resources and procedural certainty for participants in the environmental assessment process. The agreement includes specific measures to minimize costly and time-consuming duplication and overlap when a project is subject to provincial and federal assessment legislation.

Strategy

The key strategy for this objective is to ensure that joint federal/provincial environmental assessments meet all requirements of the Canada/British Columbia Agreement on Environmental Assessment Cooperation(2004).

Performance Measure

Percentage of harmonized reviews that meet provincial timelines

Rationale for the Performance Measure

A unified time limit for completion of provincial and federal environmental assessments reduces duplication and overlap, supports the efficient and effective use of public and private resources and offers procedural certainty for participants in the environmental assessment process.

For the year 2005/06, each of the four projects certified by provincial ministers under the Environmental Assessment Act were also subject to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. In each case, the Environmental Assessment Office managed these harmonized reviews on behalf of both governments using provincial time limits and consulted extensively with federal departments to develop federal/provincial work plans and address any coordination issues. For the review of the Red Chris Porphyry Copper-Gold Mine, the Environmental Assessment Office extended the legislated time limits by six days to allow sufficient time to resolve a First Nation's concern.

Deregulation

In 2004/05, our regulations were recounted and a baseline was set from which there was no net increase in regulations. The Environmental Assessment Office remains committed to ensuring no net increase in regulations occurs. We met this commitment over the 2005/06 period.