OAIA Bulletin No. 7
- March 2003
Are you still registered as an OAIA
Member?
We have recently updated our Directory of members to include
only those who have paid their annual dues for the year 2003.
(The 60-day period of grace has now expired). Those who wish to
continue to support the efforts of OAIA to further the
development and recognition of the field of impact assessment
should check the Directory to ensure that they are currently paid-up members
of OAIA.. If you wish to become a member, please
register.
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Deadline for OAIA
Board Nominations Extended until March 21
At its March 6 meeting the OAIA Board agreed to extend the
deadline for nominations for the OAIA Board until March
21. If you are interested in serving on the Board, either in
an executive capacity or as a member at large, there is still an
opportunity. The
nomination
form is on the OAIA Web site, but to be certain that your
nomination is accepted in the relatively short time remaining,
it would be advisable for you to contact Ray Lamoureux at
(613)953-2535 or
ray.lamoureux@ceaa.gc.ca. As indicated in the article on
IAIA ’04, the upcoming year will be an important, exciting and
rewarding time to become an OAIA Board member.
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IAIA '03 in
Exotic Marrakech
The preliminary program
for the 2003 annual conference of the International Association
for Impact Assessment has now been released. The conference will
be held from June 17-20 at the Palmeraie Golf Palace & Resort in
Marrakech. It will be preceded by several days of specialized
training sessions and followed by an assortment of local tours
of this most intriguing part of the world. The theme of this
year's conference, Impact Assessment & Capacity Building, will
be of particular interest to impact assessment practitioners
oriented toward issues in developing countries.
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Summary of Impact
Assessment without Borders Workshop
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Atelier sur
l'évaluation d'impacts transfrontaliers
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On February 5-6, The Ontario Association for Impact
Assessment (OAIA) and l'Association québecoise pour
l'évaluation d'impacts (AQÉI) jointly hosted in Montreal
a workshop on the assessment of transboundary impacts
entitled 'Impact Assessment without Borders'. The event
was the first concrete application of the Memorandum of
Understanding signed by the two associations. About 90
participants from government agencies, industry and
academia attended the workshop.
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L'Ontario Association for Impact Assessment (OAIA) et
l'Association québécoise pour l'évaluation d'impacts
(AQÉI) ont organisé conjointement un atelier sur
l'évaluation d'impacts transfrontaliers, intitulé "
L'évaluation d'impacts sans frontières " qui a eu lieu à
Montréal, les 5 et 6 février 2003. Cet événement a été
la première application concrète du protocole d'entente
signé par les deux associations. Près de 90 participants
ont assisté à l'atelier, la plupart provenant
d'organismes gouvernementaux, de l'industrie et du
milieu universitaire.
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The workshop was sponsored by the Canadian Environmental
Assessment Agency, Environment Canada, le ministère de
l'Environnement du Québec and the Department of Foreign
Affairs and International Trade.
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L'atelier a été mené à bien grâce à la contribution
financière de l'Agence canadienne d'évaluation
environnementale, d'Environnement Canada, du ministère
de l'Environnement du Québec et du ministère des
Affaires étrangères et du Commerce international.
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The workshop comprised of three sessions. The first
session addressed existing and potential institutional
mechanisms for assessing transboundary impacts.
Mr. Bob Connelly
of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency provided
an interesting introduction to the morning session by
describing two well-known international agreements,
those of ESPOO and that signed under the North American
Agreement on Environmental Cooperation by Canada, the
USA and Mexico. Mr.
Yves Leboeuf of the Department of Justice provided
an overview of Canadian federal legislation dealing with
transboundary environmental impacts. His was
presentation was followed by that of
Mr. Murray Clamen
who explained the mandate of the International Joint
Commission and how it addressed the issue of
transboundary effects.
Mr. Marcel Gaucher
(ministère de l'Environnement du Québec) described the
mechanisms employed in his province.
Mr. William Howland
(Lake Champlain Basin Program, Vermont) described how
his agency developed and implemented a management plan
for Lake Champlain.
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L'atelier a été divisé en trois séances. La première a
consisté à présenter les mécanismes existants ou
potentiels pour traiter de l'évaluation des impacts
transfrontaliers.
M. Bob Connelly de l'Agence canadienne d'évaluation
environnementale a donné une introduction intéressante à
cette première séance en décrivant deux accords
internationaux bien connus, la Convention d'ESPOO en
Europe et l'Accord nord-américain sur la coopération
environnementale entre le Canada, les États-Unis et le
Mexique.
M. Yves
Leboeuf du ministère de la Justice a présenté un
aperçu de la législation canadienne relative au domaine
des impacts environnementaux transfrontaliers. Son
exposé fut suivi par celui de
M. Murray Clamen
qui a expliqué le mandat de la Commission mixte
internationale et comment y sont traités les effets
transfrontaliers.
M.
Marcel Gaucher du ministère de l'Environnement du
Québec a décrit les mécanismes utilisés au Québec.
M. William Howland
du Programme du Bassin du Lac Champlain, Vermont, a
décrit comment son organisme a développé et implanté le
plan de gestion du Lac Champlain.
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The second session was devoted to specific case studies
that provided concrete applications of certain
mechanisms introduced in the morning session. The first
case study was that of the Lake Ontario - St.Lawrence
River study and was presented by
Mr. Tom McAuley
of the International Joint Commission.
Ms. Barbara Konyi
(Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing)
described the fascinating experience of the Oak Ridges
Moraines comprehensive policy approach.
Mr. Jean-Louis
Loranger (ministère des Transports du Québec)
described the case of Hwy. 185 between Quebec and New
Brunswick. Finally, Ms.
Claudine
Dutil-Berry (National Energy Board) covered the
extension of the TQM pipeline, which was subject to
multiple proceedings by Quebec government authorities.
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La seconde séance a été consacrée à des études de cas,
des exemples d'application de certains mécanismes
énoncés lors de la première séance. L'étude du Lac
Ontario-Fleuve Saint-Laurent a été le premier exemple
apporté par
M. Tom
McAuley de la Commission mixte internationale.
Mme Barbara Konyi
du ministère des Affaires municipales et de l'Habitation
de l'Ontario a présenté l'expérience fascinante de la
moraine d'Oak Ridges traitée via une approche politique
globale.
M.
Jean-Louis Loranger du ministère des Transports du
Québec a décrit le cas de l'autoroute 185 reliant le
Québec au Nouveau-Brunswick. Finalement,
Mme Claudine
Dutil-Berry de l'Office national de l'énergie a
présenté le cas du prolongement du gazoduc TQM vers
Portland, qui fut l'objet de plusieurs processus
d'évaluation environnementale par différentes instances
du gouvernement du Québec en plus de celle, prévue dans
la Loi canadienne d'évaluation environnementale.
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The final session, a panel discussion chaired by Peter
Leonard (Hydro-Quebec) was devoted to health issues
associated with transboundary movements of air
contaminants from thermal power stations. The discussion
was initiated by presentations from the five panellists.
Ms. Victoria
Christie (Canadian Electricity Association)
described the current North American electricity
generation and transmission systems as well as the
project evolution of the electricity markets.
Ms. Ann McMillan
(Environment Canada) described her ministry's effort in
understanding the nature of transboundary air pollution.
Mr. Mike Lepage
(Rowan Williams Davis and Irwin Inc.) presented air
quality models.
Dr.
Louis Drouin, M.D. (Dir. Santé Publique
Montréal-Centre) presented local and regional health
effects linked to transboundary air pollution. Finally,
Mr. Lee Doran
(OAIA) facilitated the discussions after providing some
insights on assessment approaches.
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La troisième et dernière séance fut un débat dirigé par
Peter Leonard d'Hydro-Québec, sur la question de la
santé associée aux mouvements transfrontaliers d'air
contaminé provenant de stations d'énergie thermique. La
discussion a été initiée par la présentation de cinq
panélistes.
Mme
Victoria Christie de l'Association canadienne
d'électricité a décrit la structure actuelle de la
production et du transport de l'électricité et de
l'évolution des marchés de l'énergie électrique en
Amérique du Nord.
Mme Ann McMillan d'Environnement Canada a décrit les
efforts que déploie son ministère pour bien comprendre
la nature des enjeux transfrontaliers de la pollution de
l'air atmosphérique.
M. Mike Lepage de Rowan Williams Davis and Irwin
inc. a présenté des modèles de qualité de l'air. Le
Dr. Louis Drouin
de la Direction de santé publique de Montréal-Centre a
présenté les effets locaux et régionaux sur la santé,
liés aux sources transfrontalières de pollution de
l'air. Finalement,
M.
Lee Doran de l'Ontario Association for Impact
Assessment a donné un aperçu des approches actuelles
dans le domaine de l'évaluation d'impacts, ce qui a
permis par la suite de bien enclencher la discussion.
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Mrs. Ginette Lajoie, President of AQÉI, concluded that
the first joint event had been a resounding success.
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Le mot de la fin a été donné à Mme Ginette Lajoie,
présidente de l'AQÉI, " Ce premier événement conjoint
entre les deux associations est un franc succès ".
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UPDATE: IAIA '04
-- Vancouver is on!
There was a flurry of activity, this winter, around the joint
proposal by OAIA and our sister IAIA affiliates from Quebec (AQÉI)
and Western and Northern Canada (IAIA-WNC) to host IAIA '04 in
Vancouver.
After some initial misunderstandings and miscommunications,
which were cleared up during a series of conference calls
amongst all the participants, we are happy to report that the
hotel is reserved, Sheraton Wall Centre, and the dates
are set (26-29 April 2004). Mark your calendars now!
The theme for IAIA '04 is: Impact Assessment for Industrial
Development: Whose Business is It?
The conference will focus on the role of the private sector in
impact assessment, including its role in improving professional
practice and the process of impact assessment itself. Since
people from the private sector often design, fund, implement,
follow up and report on Impact Assessments, the private sector
has become a critical player in the field. The '04 conference
theme is an explicit recognition by IAIA and its Canadian
affiliates of the important role played by the private sector
and its contribution it makes to the discipline of impact
assessment.
Plan now to join your colleagues from across Canada and around
the world at IAIA'04 in Vancouver! Better yet, volunteer to help
out with its planning and organization. Contact any Board member
for details.
And don't forget: serving on the OAIA Board in 2003-04 when
there are so many exciting possibilities will prove to be a
particularly rewarding and career-enhancing experience for you,
as well.
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UPDATE:
For current meeting information as of this Bulletin
May 15-16 Toronto
EA - Back To The Future, An OAIA/OSEM Joint Forum
Explore EA in Ontario - Current Practice
and Suggestions for Future Actions.
This is a feature topic of the Ontario Association for Impact
Assessment Annual General Meeting. OAIA invited the Ontario
Society for Environmental Management to come together to host a
Forum to explore Environmental Assessment in Ontario.
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Explore the 1996
Amendments to the EAA.
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Are they serving
the Purpose of the Act?
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Is the Scoping/TOR
procedure working?
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What Happened to
Hearings?
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Is it time for
Strategic EA?
The forum will take
place at Innis College Town Hall, 2 Sussex St. The OAIA AGM will
begin at 4:00 p.m., May 15. All welcome.
Registration and Reception for the evening Forum will begin at
5:30 p.m. followed by Key Note Addresses from Theresa
McClenaghan (CELA) and Bob Gibson (University of Waterloo)
beginning at 6:45 p.m.
Friday will include Presentations by Len Gertler, on the EA
Hearing process; Jason Thorne, Executive Director, CONE on the
Mid Peninsula Highway EA and other speakers to be confirmed
followed by 3 hours of Group Discussions exploring the Current
Situation with EA In Ontario and Suggested Future Actions.
For recent perspectives on EA in Ontario visit the
Canadian Environmental
Law Association (CELA).
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Editor's Note:
If you wish to make OAIA members and friends aware of an event
of interest; make an important announcement; or contribute to
the OAIA Bulletin, please contact
Ray Lamoureux.
Items can be placed on the website at any time, but please note
that you need to allow more lead time if you wish to include
your item in the OAIA Bulletin. We will also place
advertisements, particularly those pertaining to professional
services and available employment, in the Bulletin, and will
consider special-purpose E-mailings of interest to our members
and friends. You should be aware, however, that there may be
charges associated with those latter services.
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