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Constitutional law — Division of powers — Environmental impact assessment

(00:00:09) Reasons for Judgment: Wagner C.J. (Côté, Rowe, Martin and Kasirer JJ. concurring)
(00:00:18) I. Overview
(00:05:09) II. The Evolution of Federal Environmental Assessment
(00:05:13) A. The Nature and Purpose of Environmental Assessment
(00:06:43) B. A History of Federal Environmental Assessment
(00:09:05) (1) The 1984 Guidelines Order
(00:10:45) (2) Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (1992)
(00:12:45) (3) Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012
(00:16:20) (4) IAA
(00:17:15) III. The Legislative Scheme
(00:18:05) A. The “Designated Projects” Regulatory Scheme
(00:19:52) (1) The Planning Phase
(00:21:24) (2) The Impact Assessment Phase
(00:25:23) (3) The Decision-Making Phase
(00:26:21) B. Sections 81 to 91: Non-Designated Projects on Federal Lands or Outside Canada
(00:28:13) IV. The Judgment of the Court of Appeal of Alberta
(00:33:12) V. Issue on Appeal
(00:33:56) VI. Step 1: Characterization
(00:33:59) A. The Governing Principles
(00:34:02) (1) The Pith and Substance Analysis
(00:35:45) (2) Characterization Is Distinct From Classification
(00:37:36) (3) The Presumption of Constitutionality
(00:41:59) B. The Application of the Governing Principles
(00:42:58) (1) Purpose
(00:53:37) (2) Effects
(01:03:33) (3) Conclusion on Characterization
(01:04:20) VII. Step 2: Classification
(01:04:24) A. The Governing Principles
(01:04:26) (1) General Principles
(01:06:05) (2) The Environmental Context
(01:14:23) B. The Application of the Governing Principles
(01:15:22) (1) The “Designated Projects” Scheme
(02:08:39) (2) The Scheme for Non-Designated Projects on Federal Lands or Outside Canada
(02:11:08) VIII. Additional Issues
(02:12:17) IX. Conclusion

(02:13:50) Joint Reasons Dissenting in Part: Karakatsanis and Jamal JJ.
(02:13:56) I. Introduction
(02:20:09) II. Federalism and the Environment
(02:27:21) III. The Evolution of Federal Environmental Assessment Regimes
(02:31:19) IV. The Impact Assessment Act
(02:32:07) A. Designation of Projects on the Project List Based on Adverse Federal Effects
(02:35:17) B. Prohibitions
(02:36:13) C. The Planning Phase
(02:37:22) D. The Impact Assessment Phase
(02:38:13) E. The Decision-Making Phase (the Public Interest Determination)
(02:39:38) V. Analysis
(02:40:03) A. Characterization of the Impact Assessment Act Scheme
(03:13:20) B. Classification of the IAA Scheme
(03:58:18) C. Provincial Undertakings Are Not Immune From Federal Environmental Assessment Under the Doctrine of Interjurisdictional Immunity
(04:01:09) VI. Conclusion