Repeal of Obsolete Environmental Assessment Regulations

Summary#

The final regulation titled Regulations Amending and Repealing Certain Department of the Environment Regulations (Miscellaneous Program) (SOR/2023-60) removes a set of obsolete environmental assessment regulations and fixes a French wording error in the Project List. It was registered on March 27, 2023 and published in the Canada Gazette on April 12, 2023.

What it does#

• Repeals ten old regulatory instruments that were tied to the former Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. These include:
  • Law List Regulations
  • Inclusion List Regulations
  • Comprehensive Study List Regulations
  • Federal Authorities Regulations
  • Projects Outside Canada Environmental Assessment Regulations
  • Regulations Respecting the Coordination by Federal Authorities of Environmental Assessment Procedures and Requirements
  • Canada Port Authority Environmental Assessment Regulations
  • Crown Corporations Involved in the Provision of Commercial Loans Environmental Assessment Regulations
  • Exclusion List Regulations, 2007
  • Establishing Timelines for Comprehensive Studies Regulations
• Fixes a bilingual mismatch in the Physical Activities Regulations (the Project List) by updating the French text of paragraph 42(a) to include the same capacity threshold as the English text: 200 MW or more.
• The changes came into force on the day the regulation was registered (March 27, 2023).

Who's affected#

• Federal departments and agencies that work on environmental assessments and regulatory lists.
• Project proponents and consultants in sectors that plan large hydroelectric projects, because the Project List now clearly targets projects of 200 MW or more.
• Organizations and people who used or referenced the older, now-repealed regulations (ports, some Crown corporations, legal and environmental advisers).
• The government committee that recommended cleanup, the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations, is noted in the background.
• The government’s analysis says the changes do not create new costs for businesses and will not affect small businesses.

Why it matters#

• It removes outdated rules that had no legal effect but could cause confusion. That makes it easier to know which regulations actually apply today.
• It fixes a translation error so the English and French versions of the Project List match. That clarifies which hydroelectric projects (those of 200 MW or more) are subject to listing rules.
• The change is mainly administrative: it cleans up and clarifies the regulatory record rather than creating new obligations or new review processes.