Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Act (S.C. 2003, c. 7)

Studies and Research

Marginal note:Request for studies or research

• 112 (1) At the request of the federal minister, or at the request of the territorial minister or a first nation and with the consent of the federal minister, or at the request of a first nation or the territorial minister and at its or his or her expense, the executive committee may undertake

  • (a) studies of environmental or socio-economic effects that are cumulative geographically or over time; or

  • (b) research into any aspect of the assessment of activities.

• Marginal note:Collaboration

  (1.1) With the approval of the ministers and first nations that request or consent to a study or research under subsection (1), the executive committee may conduct the study or research in collaboration with any other body.

• Marginal note:Agreement

  (2) The executive committee may conclude agreements respecting the terms of reference, scope and scheduling of studies or research with the ministers and first nations that request or consent to them.

• Marginal note:Obtaining information

  (3) Subject to any other Act of Parliament, territorial law or first nation law, the executive committee may obtain from any first nation, government agency or independent regulatory agency any information in their possession that the executive committee requires for the purpose of conducting a study or research.

Marginal note:Report of executive committee

• 113 (1) The executive committee shall submit a report on the results of a study or of research undertaken under section 112 to the minister or first nation that requested or consented to it and shall, as soon as feasible after submitting the report, make it available to the public. The executive committee may include recommendations in the report.

• Marginal note:Consideration of report

  (2) The minister or first nation shall give full and fair consideration to any recommendations of the executive committee.

Violation of Decision Document

Marginal note:Recommendation by Board to decision body

• 114 (1) The Board may recommend to a decision body that a public hearing be held by the Board, or another body to be designated by the decision body, if the Board considers that any person or body has violated any of the provisions of a decision document issued by that decision body.

• Marginal note:Hearing

  (2) If a decision body accepts a recommendation made to it, the Board or the body designated by the decision body shall hold a public hearing with respect to the violation, and may make recommendations to the decision body for the disposition of the matter.

• Marginal note:Response to recommendation

  (3) A decision body shall respond with written reasons to any recommendation made to it.

Court Jurisdiction

Marginal note:Court reference by Board

115 At the request of a designated office, the executive committee, a panel of the Board, a joint panel or a decision body, the Board may refer a question of law or jurisdiction arising in any proceedings under this Act to the Supreme Court of Yukon.

Marginal note:Application for judicial review

116 Notwithstanding the exclusive jurisdiction referred to in section 18 of the Federal Courts Act, the Attorney General of Canada, the territorial minister or anyone directly affected by the matter in respect of which relief is sought may make an application to the Supreme Court of Yukon for any relief against the Board, a designated office, the executive committee, a panel of the Board, a joint panel or a decision body, by way of an injunction or declaration or by way of an order in the nature of certiorari, mandamus, quo warranto or prohibition.

Maintenance of Records and Public Access

Marginal note:Records of Board and designated offices

117 The Board and each designated office shall maintain

• (a) a document indicating the boundaries of assessment districts and the location of the designated office for each assessment district;

• (b) copies of any by-laws and rules that are in force under this Act;

• (c) a record of the results of project audits and effects monitoring;

• (d) reports of studies and research undertaken under section 112; and

• (e) descriptions of any standard mitigative measures developed under section 37.

Marginal note:Records of Board

118 The Board shall maintain

• (a) a register containing all documents that are produced, collected or received by the executive committee, panels of the Board and joint panels in relation to assessments, together with any documents provided to them under subsection 91(1);

• (b) a list of the projects, existing projects, other activities and plans for which an assessment is pending before, or has been completed by, the designated offices, the executive committee, panels of the Board and joint panels, together with their location and stage of assessment; and

• (c) a record of authorizations, grants of interest in land and provisions of financial assistance in respect of which the Board has been notified under section 89.

Marginal note:Records of designated office

119 Each designated office shall maintain

• (a) a register containing all documents that are produced, collected or received by it in relation to assessments and a copy of all documents referred to in paragraph 118(a) that relate to projects located in its assessment district, together with any documents provided to it under subsection 91(1); and

• (b) a list of the projects, existing projects and plans in its assessment district for which assessments are pending or have been completed, together with their location and stage of assessment.

Marginal note:Public access

• 120 (1) Any person has the right to inspect the registers and records referred to in sections 117 to 119 during normal business hours.

• Marginal note:Information kept

  (2) The Board and the designated offices shall keep their registers and records in a manner that facilitates public access to them.

Marginal note:Information held in confidence

121 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Part, the executive committee, the designated offices, panels of the Board and decision bodies may not disclose

• (a) traditional knowledge that is determined to be confidential under the applicable rules and that is provided in confidence to them for the purposes of this Act; or

• (b) information to any person or body that a government institution, within the meaning of the Access to Information Act, would not be required to disclose pursuant to a request by that person or body under that Act, unless

  • (i) the provider of the information consents to its disclosure, and

  • (ii) the person or body is not required to disclose the information pursuant to a request under a territorial or first nation law, and agrees to keep the information confidential.

121.1 [Repealed, 2017, c. 34, s. 8]

Regulations and Orders

Marginal note:Regulations of Governor in Council

122 The Governor in Council may, following consultation by the federal minister with the territorial minister and first nations, make regulations

• (a) defining resident for the purposes of section 9, respecting proceedings for removal of a member from office under subsection 11(2) and determining which member is to be removed if more than one member changes residence during a given period;

• (b) specifying any matter to be taken into consideration in the conduct of an assessment of a project or existing project, for the purposes of paragraph 42(1)(j);

• (c) specifying the projects for which proposals are to be submitted to the executive committee under subsection 50(1);

• (d) prescribing periods for the purposes of section 75 or subsection 76(1) or 77(3);

• (e) respecting the manner of consultation between decision bodies under subsection 78(1);

• (f) specifying the types of plans that may be reviewed by a panel of the Board under subsection 105(1); and

• (g) establishing a funding program to facilitate the participation of specified classes of persons or groups in reviews of projects.

Marginal note:Power of Governor in Council

122.1 The Governor in Council may, following consultation by the federal minister with the territorial minister, first nations, the Council and the Board, make regulations respecting the recovery of costs for the purposes of section 93.1, including prescribing amounts and services for that section and exempting any class of proponents or class of projects from the application of that section.

Marginal note:Amendment of schedule

123 The Governor in Council may, by order, following consultation by the federal minister with the territorial minister and first nations,

• (a) amend Part 1 of the schedule by adding to it the name of any body having power under a federal law, other than the Yukon Act, to issue authorizations whose terms and conditions are not subject to variation by the Governor in Council or a minister of the Crown;

• (b) amend Part 2 of the schedule by adding to it the name of any body having the power under the Yukon Act to issue authorizations whose terms and conditions are not subject to variation by the Commissioner of Yukon or by a minister of the territorial government; or

• (c) amend the schedule by deleting the name of any body.

PART 3Transitional Provisions, Consequential and Coordinating Amendments and Commencement

Transitional Provisions

Marginal note:Application of EARP Guidelines Order

• 124 (1) The Environmental Assessment and Review Process Guidelines Order, approved by Order in Council P.C. 1984-2132 of June 21, 1984, and registered as SOR/84-467, continues to apply — to the exclusion of the provisions of this Act respecting projects — in respect of any proposal for a project that is, on the coming into force of Part 2 of this Act, before an environmental assessment panel established pursuant to that Order.

• Marginal note:Application of EARP Guidelines Order

  (2) The Order referred to in subsection (1) continues to apply — to the exclusion of the provisions of this Act respecting projects — in respect of any proposal for a project for which an environmental screening or initial assessment under that Order was commenced before the coming into force of Part 2 of this Act, but where such a proposal is referred to the Minister of the Environment for public review pursuant to section 20 of that Order, that Order ceases to apply and this Act applies in respect of the proposal as if that Minister had agreed to a request made by the executive committee under paragraph 61(1)(b) of this Act.

Marginal note:Application of Canadian Environmental Assessment Act

• 125 (1) Notwithstanding section 6, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act continues to apply — to the exclusion of the provisions of this Act respecting projects — in respect of a proposal for a project that was referred, before the coming into force of Part 2 of this Act, to a mediator or a review panel pursuant to that Act.

• Marginal note:Application of Canadian Environmental Assessment Act

  (2) Notwithstanding section 6, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act continues to apply — to the exclusion of the provisions of this Act respecting projects — in respect of a proposal for a project for which a screening or comprehensive study was commenced under that Act before the coming into force of Part 2 of this Act, but where the project is referred to a review panel pursuant to subsection 29(1) of that Act, that Act ceases to apply and section 63 of this Act applies as if the Minister of the Environment had agreed to a request made by the executive committee under paragraph 61(1)(b).

Marginal note:Pending applications to territorial agencies and first nations

• 126 (1) This Act does not apply in respect of a project for which, before the coming into force of Part 2, an application was made to a territorial agency under a territorial law, or to a first nation under a first nation law or the first nation’s final agreement, for the issuance of an authorization, the grant of an interest in land or the grant of financial assistance, unless

  • (a) the project becomes subject to this Act by virtue of subsection 124(2) or 125(2); or

  • (b) before the application is accepted, the territorial minister or the first nation, as the case may be, requires the applicant to submit a proposal under section 50.

• Marginal note:Projects already initiated

  (2) This Act does not apply in respect of any project that the territorial agency or first nation has initiated as proponent before the coming into force of Part 2 unless the project becomes subject to this Act by virtue of subsection 124(2) or 125(2).

Consequential Amendments

Access to Information Act

127 [Amendment]

128 [Amendment]

Privacy Act

129 [Amendment]

Yukon First Nations Self-Government Act

130 [Amendment]

Yukon Surface Rights Board Act

131 [Amendment]

Coordinating Amendments

132 [Amendment]

133 [Amendment]

Coming Into Force

Marginal note:Order of Governor in Council

Footnote ^*134 Section 6, Part 2 and sections 124 to 126 and 131 come into force eighteen months after the day on which this Act receives royal assent or on any earlier day that may be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.

• Return to footnote ^*[Note: Act, except section 6, Part 2 and sections 124 to 126 and 131, in force on assent May 13, 2003; section 6, Part 2 and sections 124 to 126 and 131, in force November 13, 2004.]