Marginal note:Annual report

29. The executive committee shall, within three months after the end of each fiscal year, prepare for the approval of the Board an annual report of the activities of the Board for that fiscal year, and the executive committee shall submit the approved report to the federal minister and make it available to the public.

Rules and By-Laws

Marginal note:Rules for executive committee and panels

• 30. (1) The Board shall make rules, applicable to screenings by the executive committee and reviews by panels of the Board, with respect to

  • (a) the form and content of proposals submitted under paragraph 50(1)(a) or of requests made under section 60;

  • (b) the determination of the scope of a project;

  • (c) for the purposes of section 46, the participation of interested persons and the public; and

  • (d) the periods within which the executive committee and panels of the Board must perform their functions under Part 2.

• Marginal note:Rules for executive committee and panels

  (2) The Board may make rules with respect to

  • (a) the manner in which proponents of projects must consult with first nations and residents of communities for the purposes of subsection 50(3);

  • (b) the conduct of screenings of projects by the executive committee and reviews of projects by panels of the Board;

  • (c) the reconsideration of recommendations referred back to the executive committee or a panel of the Board by a decision body;

  • (d) the membership of panels of the Board and the establishment of their terms of reference; and

  • (e) cooperation by the executive committee and panels of the Board with other bodies, including the coordination of functions.

• Marginal note:Other rules

  (3) The Board may make rules with respect to

  • (a) reviews of existing projects, reviews of plans and reviews of activities outside Yukon;

  • (b) the conduct of audits, and effects monitoring, of projects and existing projects under sections 110 and 111; and

  • (c) the conduct of studies and research under section 112.

• Marginal note:Categories of projects, etc.

  (4) Rules made under this section may provide for different types of screenings or reviews for different categories of projects, existing projects or plans, or activities outside Yukon, as the case may be.

Marginal note:Rules for designated offices

• 31. (1) The Board shall make rules with respect to the conduct of evaluations of projects by designated offices, which may include rules providing for

  • (a) different phases of the evaluation of projects; and

  • (b) different types of evaluations for different categories of projects.

• Marginal note:Rules for designated offices

  (2) The Board shall make rules, applicable to evaluations of projects by designated offices, with respect to

  • (a) the form and content of proposals submitted under paragraph 50(1)(b);

  • (b) the determination of the scope of a project;

  • (c) for the purposes of section 46, participation in evaluations by interested persons and the public;

  • (d) the submission of proposals for projects located in two or more assessment districts;

  • (e) the conduct of evaluations by two or more designated offices, jointly or by one of them on behalf of the other or others, under section 53; and

  • (f) the periods within which designated offices must perform their functions under Part 2.

• Marginal note:Rules for cooperation

  (3) The Board may make rules with respect to cooperation by designated offices with other bodies, including the coordination of functions.

• Marginal note:Collaboration with designated offices

  (4) The Board shall seek the collaboration of the designated offices in making rules under subsections (1) to (3).

• Marginal note:Rules made by designated office

  (5) A designated office may make rules with respect to the conduct of its evaluations, including rules respecting any of the matters specified in subsections (1) to (3), but rules made by the Board prevail over rules made by a designated office to the extent of any inconsistency.

Marginal note:Standard mitigative measures

• 32. (1) The Board may make rules with respect to the development, by a designated office or the executive committee, of standard mitigative measures referred to in section 37.

• Marginal note:Collaboration

  (2) The Board shall seek the collaboration of the designated offices in making rules under subsection (1).

Marginal note:General rules re information

33. The Board shall make rules with respect to

• (a) the integration of scientific information, traditional knowledge and other information by designated offices, the executive committee and panels of the Board;

• (b) the determination of whether traditional knowledge is confidential for the purposes of paragraph 121(a); and

• (c) the handling of information to prevent its disclosure contrary to section 121, including the conduct of private hearings and the restriction of access to information at public hearings.

Marginal note:Publication of proposed rules

• 34. (1) At least 60 days before making rules, the Board or a designated office shall publish a notice of any proposed rules in the Canada Gazette, in a periodical that, in its opinion, has a large circulation in Yukon and in a periodical distributed in the Gwich’in Settlement Area referred to in the Gwich’in Agreement and shall, in the notice, invite written representations to be made to it with respect to the proposed rules within 60 days after publication.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (2) No further notice need be published if the proposed rules are amended solely in response to representations made to the Board or the designated office.

• Marginal note:Publication of rules

  (3) Rules made by the Board or a designated office shall be published in the Canada Gazette immediately after they are made.

Marginal note:By-laws of Board

35. The Board may make by-laws

• (a) for the conduct and management of its internal administrative affairs; and

• (b) specifying grounds for the removal of members from office other than for cause, for the purposes of subsection 11(1).

Marginal note:By-laws for designated offices

• 36. (1) The Board may make by-laws for the conduct and management of the internal administrative affairs of all designated offices.

• Marginal note:Collaboration

  (2) The Board shall seek the collaboration of the designated offices in making by-laws applicable to them.

• Marginal note:By-laws made by designated office

  (3) A designated office may make by-laws for the conduct and management of its internal administrative affairs, but by-laws made by the Board under subsection (1) prevail over by-laws made by a designated office to the extent of any inconsistency.

Marginal note:Standard mitigation measures

• 37. (1) A designated office may develop standard mitigative measures that can be applied to a class of projects, or to projects located within a geographic area.

• Marginal note:Standard mitigation measures

  (2) The executive committee may develop standard mitigative measures that can be applied to a class of projects or existing projects, or to projects or existing projects located within a geographic area.

• Marginal note:Public participation

  (3) The designated office and the executive committee shall provide opportunities for public participation in the development of standard mitigative measures.

• Marginal note:Conflict

  (4) Unless otherwise provided by the rules, standard mitigative measures developed by the executive committee prevail over those developed by a designated office to the extent of any inconsistency.

Marginal note:Statutory Instruments Act

38. Sections 3, 5 and 11 of the Statutory Instruments Act do not apply in respect of the rules or by-laws of the Board or a designated office.

General Requirement

Marginal note:Scientific and traditional knowledge

39. A designated office, the executive committee or a panel of the Board shall give full and fair consideration to scientific information, traditional knowledge and other information provided to it or obtained by it under this Act.

PART 2ASSESSMENT PROCESS AND DECISION DOCUMENTS

Assessments — General

Marginal note:Non-duplication and certainty

40. The Board, the designated offices, the executive committee and panels of the Board shall avoid duplication in the assessment process and shall provide certainty, to the extent practicable, to persons participating in the assessment process with respect to assessment procedures, including information requirements, time limits and costs.

Marginal note:Timeliness of assessments

41. The designated offices, the executive committee and panels of the Board shall conduct assessments of projects, existing projects and plans in a timely and expeditious manner.

Marginal note:Matters to be considered

• 42. (1) In conducting an assessment of a project or existing project, a designated office, the executive committee or a panel of the Board shall take the following matters into consideration:

  • (a) the purpose of the project or existing project;

  • (b) all stages of the project or existing project;

  • (c) the significance of any environmental or socio-economic effects of the project or existing project that have occurred or might occur in or outside Yukon, including the effects of malfunctions or accidents;

  • (d) the significance of any adverse cumulative environmental or socio-economic effects that have occurred or might occur in connection with the project or existing project in combination with the effects of

    • (i) other projects for which proposals have been submitted under subsection 50(1), or

    • (ii) other existing or proposed activities in or outside Yukon that are known to the designated office, executive committee or panel of the Board from information provided to it or obtained by it under this Act;

  • (e) alternatives to the project or existing project, or alternative ways of undertaking or operating it, that would avoid or minimize any significant adverse environmental or socio-economic effects;

  • (f) mitigative measures and measures to compensate for any significant adverse environmental or socio-economic effects;

  • (g) the need to protect the rights of Yukon Indian persons under final agreements, the special relationship between Yukon Indian persons and the wilderness environment of Yukon, and the cultures, traditions, health and lifestyles of Yukon Indian persons and other residents of Yukon;

  • (h) the interests of residents of Yukon and of Canadian residents outside Yukon;

  • (i) any matter that a decision body has asked it to take into consideration; and

  • (j) any matter specified by the regulations.

• Marginal note:Additional matters to be considered

  (2) In addition to the matters referred to in subsection (1), the executive committee or a panel of the Board shall take the following matters into consideration:

  • (a) the need for effects monitoring; and

  • (b) the capacity of any renewable resources that are likely to be significantly affected by the project or existing project to meet present and future needs.

• Marginal note:Consideration of standards

  (3) Where a project or existing project to be assessed belongs to a class, or is to be located in a geographic area, for which standard mitigative measures have been developed, whether developed by the designated office or the executive committee, those measures shall be taken into consideration by the designated office, the executive committee or a panel of the Board when assessing the project or existing project.

• Marginal note:Optional matters

  (4) A designated office, the executive committee or a panel of the Board may also take into consideration any matter that it considers relevant in the assessment of a project or existing project.

Marginal note:Requiring additional information

43. A designated office, the executive committee or a panel of the Board may require the proponent to provide any supplementary information that it considers necessary for its assessment, whether or not it has commenced the assessment.

Marginal note:Regional land use plans

• 44. (1) If a regional land use plan is in effect in a planning region established under a final agreement, a designated office, the executive committee or a panel of the Board shall, when conducting an assessment of a project proposed in the planning region, request the planning commission established under the final agreement to advise it as to whether the project is in conformity with the regional land use plan, unless such a request has already been made in relation to the project.

• Marginal note:Non-conformity with plan

  (2) A designated office, the executive committee or a panel of the Board shall, if advised by the planning commission for a planning region, before or during its assessment of a project, that the project is not in conformity with the regional land use plan, consider the regional land use plan and invite the planning commission to make representations to it with respect to the project.

• Marginal note:Recommendation for project

  (3) Where a designated office, the executive committee or a panel of the Board recommends that a project referred to in subsection (2) be allowed to proceed, it shall, to the extent possible, recommend terms and conditions that will bring the project into conformity with the regional land use plan.

Marginal note:Pending land use plan

• 45. (1) When a planning commission established for a planning region under a final agreement notifies the executive committee and designated offices that it is preparing a regional land use plan pursuant to the final agreement, the executive committee and each designated office whose assessment district includes any part of the planning region shall provide the planning commission with the information in its possession about every project in the planning region for which an assessment is pending.

• Marginal note:Representations

  (2) The executive committee shall invite a planning commission that is preparing a land use plan to make representations to it and to each panel of the Board that is conducting a review of a project, and each designated office that is conducting an evaluation of a project shall invite the planning commission to make representations to it.

Marginal note:Participation by interested persons

46. Subject to subsections 60(4), 95(4) and 103(4), a designated office, the executive committee or a panel of the Board shall provide and publicize opportunities for interested persons and the public to participate in any assessment conducted by it.

Proposed Activities Subject to Assessment

Marginal note:Regulations identifying activities

• 47. (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations

  • (a) listing activities that may be made subject to assessment; and

  • (b) making exceptions from activities so listed.

• Marginal note:Circumstances

  (2) An activity listed under paragraph (1)(a) — and not excepted under paragraph (1)(b) — is subject to assessment if proposed to be undertaken in Yukon and if

  • (a) a federal agency or federal independent regulatory agency is the proponent or receives an application for financial assistance for the activity;

  • (b) a territorial agency, municipal government, territorial independent regulatory agency or first nation is the proponent and an authorization or the grant of an interest in land would be required for the activity to be undertaken by a private individual;

  • (c) an authorization or the grant of an interest in land by a government agency, independent regulatory agency, municipal government or first nation is required for the activity to be undertaken; or

  • (d) an authorization by the Governor in Council is required for the activity to be undertaken.

Marginal note:Declarations

• 48. (1) Where an activity is listed under paragraph 47(1)(a) but is excepted under paragraph 47(1)(b), a declaration that the activity is subject to assessment may nevertheless be made, in circumstances referred to in subsection (3) or (4), by

  • (a) a federal agency that is the proponent of the activity or that has the power to issue an authorization or to grant an interest in land required for the activity to be undertaken or has received an application for financial assistance for the activity;

  • (b) the federal minister, if the Governor in Council has the power to issue an authorization required for the activity to be undertaken or if a federal independent regulatory agency is the proponent of the activity, has the power to issue an authorization or to grant an interest in land required for the activity to be undertaken or has received an application for financial assistance for the activity;

  • (c) the territorial minister, if a territorial agency, a municipal government or a territorial independent regulatory agency is the proponent of the activity or has the power to issue an authorization or to grant an interest in land required for the activity to be undertaken; or

  • (d) a first nation that is the proponent of the activity or that has the power to issue an authorization or to grant an interest in land required for the activity to be undertaken.

• Marginal note:Consent to declaration

  (2) A declaration that a particular activity is subject to assessment must be consented to by every person or body referred to in subsection (1) that has the power to make that declaration.

• Marginal note:Significant adverse effects

  (3) A declaration that an activity is subject to assessment may be made by the federal agency, federal minister, territorial minister or first nation if they are of the opinion that the activity might

  • (a) have significant adverse environmental or socio-economic effects in or outside Yukon; or

  • (b) contribute significantly to cumulative adverse environmental or socio-economic effects in combination with projects for which proposals have been submitted under subsection 50(1) or with other activities known to them that are proposed, undertaken or completed in or outside Yukon.

• Marginal note:Activity in protected area

  (4) A declaration that an activity is subject to assessment may also be made in respect of an activity if the activity is to be undertaken

  • (a) in an area that contains a heritage resource, other than a record only, or that is a heritage resource, and that is for that reason protected by federal, territorial or first nation law or that is identified, in a land use plan in effect under a final agreement, as an area that should be so protected;

  • (b) in a special management area that is identified as such in a final agreement or that is established in accordance with a final agreement; or

  • (c) in an area that forms the habitat for any species of plant or wildlife that is determined to be rare, threatened, endangered or at risk by or under federal, territorial or first nation law.