Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Act

This Act may be cited as the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Act.

The following definitions apply in this Act.

assessment means an evaluation by a designated office, a screening by the executive committee or a review by a panel of the Board. (évaluation)

authorization means a licence, permit or other form of approval that is issued or given by but does not include an access order issued under the Yukon Surface Rights Board Act or a consent given by a first nation for access to settlement land in circumstances where an access order could be issued under that Act. (autorisation)

the Governor in Council, a government agency, an independent regulatory agency or a municipal government, or

a first nation under its final agreement or a first nation law,

Board means the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board established by section 8. (Office)

category B settlement land means land that is, or is to be treated as, category B settlement land, as referred to in the definition settlement land. (terres désignées de catégorie B)

Council means the Council for Yukon Indians or any successor to it or, in the absence of a successor, the first nations named in the schedule to the Yukon First Nations Land Claims Settlement Act. (Conseil)

decision body, in relation to a project, means

a first nation, if the project is to be located wholly or partly on its settlement land and

the first nation has the power under the Yukon First Nations Self-Government Act or under its final agreement to issue an authorization that is required for the project to be undertaken,

the first nation is a proponent of the project, has the power to grant an interest in land that is required for the project to be undertaken or has received an application for financial assistance for the project, or

no decision document is required for the project from any federal agency or the territorial minister;

the territorial minister, if any territorial agency, municipal government or territorial independent regulatory agency

has the power to issue an authorization that is required for the project to be undertaken,

in the case of a project to be located wholly or partly on non-settlement land, is a proponent of the project, has the power to grant an interest in land that is required for the project to be undertaken or has received an application for financial assistance for the project, or

is responsible for the administration of mines and minerals in category B or fee simple settlement land or Tetlit Gwich’in Yukon land, where the project involves a right to work those mines and minerals;

any federal agency that

has the power to issue an authorization that is required for the project to be undertaken,

in the case of a project to be located wholly or partly on non-settlement land, is a proponent of the project, has the power to grant an interest in land that is required for the project to be undertaken or has received an application for financial assistance for the project, or

is responsible for the administration of mines and minerals in category B or fee simple settlement land or Tetlit Gwich’in Yukon land, where the project involves a right to work those mines and minerals;

the federal minister, if the project is to be located wholly or partly on non-settlement land, no other federal agency is a decision body under paragraph (c) and

the territorial minister is not a decision body, or

the territorial minister is a decision body and

the Governor in Council has the power to issue an authorization that is required for the project to be undertaken, or

a federal independent regulatory agency is a proponent of the project, has the power to issue such an authorization or has received an application for financial assistance for the project; or

the federal minister, if the project is to be located wholly on settlement land and

the Governor in Council or a federal independent regulatory agency has the power to issue an authorization that is required for the project to be undertaken, or

a federal independent regulatory agency has received an application for financial assistance for the project. (décisionnaire)

decision document means a decision document issued by a decision body under section 75, 76 or 77. (décision écrite)

designated office means an office maintained under subsection 22(1). (bureau désigné)

effects monitoring means the monitoring of environmental and socio-economic effects, or of the effectiveness of mitigative measures. (mesures de contrôle)

environment means the components of the Earth and includes

air, land and water;

all layers of the atmosphere;

all organic and inorganic matter and living organisms; and

the interacting natural systems that include the components referred to in paragraphs (a) to (c). (environnement)

executive committee means the executive committee of the Board established by section 8. (comité de direction)

existing project means an activity that has been undertaken or completed and that, if proposed to be undertaken, would be subject to assessment under section 47. (ouvrage)

federal agency means a minister of the federal government or a person or body carrying out a function of government under a federal law other than the Yukon Act, the Yukon First Nations Self-Government Act or the Yukon First Nations Land Claims Settlement Act, but does not include the Governor in Council, an independent regulatory agency or the Yukon Surface Rights Board. (autorité fédérale)

federal decision body, in relation to a project, means a decision body referred to in any of paragraphs (c) to (e) of the definition decision body. (décisionnaire fédéral)

federal independent regulatory agency means any body named in Part 1 of the schedule. (organisme administratif autonome fédéral)

federal minister means the Minister of Northern Affairs, unless another member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada is designated by the Governor in Council as the federal minister for the purposes of this Act. (ministre fédéral)

fee simple settlement land means land that is, or is to be treated as, fee simple settlement land, as referred to in the definition settlement land. (terres désignées en fief simple)

final agreement means a final agreement within the meaning of the Yukon First Nations Land Claims Settlement Act or the agreement contained in Appendix C to the Gwich’in Agreement. (accord définitif)

financial assistance means a payment, loan or loan guarantee, but does not include

a refund, remission, reduction or deferral, or any other form of relief from the payment, of a tax, duty or fee, other than relief provided by law to permit the undertaking of an activity specifically named in the law;

assistance for anything done preliminary to a project, such as a feasibility study, that does not have effects on the environment; or

assistance for an environmental or socio-economic study undertaken in relation to the assessment of a project, except a study that itself comprises a project. (aide financière)

first nation means a Yukon First Nation, within the meaning of the Umbrella Final Agreement, and includes the Gwich’in Tribal Council, in relation to consultation, or the Tetlit Gwich’in, in relation to any other matter. (première nation)

first nation law means a law enacted by a first nation in accordance with the Yukon First Nations Self-Government Act or the first nation’s final agreement. (texte législatif d’une première nation)

government agency means a federal agency or a territorial agency. (autorité publique)

Gwich’in Agreement means the Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement between Her Majesty the Queen in right of Canada and the Gwich’in as represented by the Gwich’in Tribal Council, signed on April 22, 1992 and approved, given effect and declared valid by the Gwich’in Land Claim Settlement Act, as that Agreement is amended from time to time in accordance with its provisions. (accord gwich’in)

heritage resource means

a moveable work or assembly of works of people or of nature, other than a record only, that is of scientific or cultural value for its archaeological, palaeontological, ethnological, prehistoric, historic or aesthetic features;

a record, regardless of its physical form or characteristics, that is of scientific or cultural value for its archaeological, palaeontological, ethnological, prehistoric, historic or aesthetic features; or

an area of land that contains a work or assembly of works referred to in paragraph (a) or an area that is of aesthetic or cultural value, including a human burial site outside a recognized cemetery. (ressources patrimoniales)

independent regulatory agency means any body named in the schedule. (organisme administratif autonome)

interested person means any person or body having an interest in the outcome of an assessment, for a purpose that is not frivolous or vexatious, and includes

the Fish and Wildlife Management Board established under the Umbrella Final Agreement, in relation to a project that is likely to affect the management and conservation of fish or wildlife or their habitat;

the salmon subcommittee of the Fish and Wildlife Management Board, in relation to a project that is likely to affect the management and conservation of salmon or their habitat; and

a renewable resource council established under a first nation’s final agreement, in relation to a project that is likely to affect the management and conservation of fish or wildlife or their habitat within the traditional territory of that first nation. (intéressé)

joint panel means a joint panel established by an agreement under section 67. (comité mixte)

mitigative measures means measures for the elimination, reduction or control of adverse environmental or socio-economic effects. (mesures d’atténuation)

non-settlement land means

land other than settlement land;

water lying on or flowing through land, including settlement land; or

mines and minerals, other than specified substances, in category B or fee simple settlement land or Tetlit Gwich’in Yukon land. (terres non désignées)

panel of the Board means a panel established under subsection 65(1), paragraph 93(1)(a) or subsection 95(1), 103(1) or 105(1). (comité restreint)

plan means any plan, program, policy or proposal that is not a project or existing project. (plan)

project means an activity that is subject to assessment under section 47 or 48 and is not exempt from assessment under section 49. (projet de développement)

proponent, in relation to a project or other activity, means a person or body that proposes to undertake it, or a government agency, independent regulatory agency, municipal government or first nation that proposes to require — under a federal or territorial law, a municipal by-law or a first nation law — that it be undertaken. (promoteur)

self-government agreement has the same meaning as in the Yukon First Nations Self-Government Act. (accord sur l’autonomie gouvernementale)

settlement land means land that is category A settlement land, category B settlement land or fee simple settlement land under a final agreement or under section 63 of the Yukon Surface Rights Board Act, or land that is to be treated as such by virtue of a self-government agreement, and includes Tetlit Gwich’in Yukon land, but does not include water or mines and minerals defined to be non-settlement land. (terres désignées)

socio-economic effects includes effects on economies, health, culture, traditions, lifestyles and heritage resources. (effets sur la vie socioéconomique)

territorial agency means a member of the Executive Council of Yukon or a person or body carrying out a function of government under the Yukon Act, but does not include an independent regulatory agency or a municipal government. (autorité territoriale)

territorial independent regulatory agency means any body named in Part 2 of the schedule. (organisme administratif autonome territorial)

territorial minister means the member of the Executive Council of Yukon designated as the territorial minister for the purposes of this Act by the Commissioner of Yukon acting with the consent of the Executive Council of Yukon. (ministre territorial)

territory means

in relation to a first nation for which a final agreement is in effect, that first nation’s traditional territory and any of its settlement lands within Yukon that are not part of that traditional territory;

in relation to the first nation known as the Tetlit Gwich’in, the areas described in Annex A of Appendix C to the Gwich’in Agreement; and

in relation to any other first nation, the geographic area within Yukon identified on the map provided by that first nation under the Umbrella Final Agreement for the purpose of delineating the first nation’s traditional territory. (territoire)

Tetlit Gwich’in means the Tetlit Gwich’in as defined in Appendix C to the Gwich’in Agreement. (Gwich’in Tetlit)

Tetlit Gwich’in Yukon land means land described in Annex B of Appendix C to the Gwich’in Agreement. (terres gwich’in tetlit)

traditional knowledge means the accumulated body of knowledge, observations and understandings about the environment, and about the relationship of living beings with one another and the environment, that is rooted in the traditional way of life of first nations. (connaissances traditionnelles)

Umbrella Final Agreement has the same meaning as in the Yukon First Nations Land Claims Settlement Act. (accord-cadre)

Yukon[Repealed, 2003, c. 7, s. 133]

Yukon Indian person means a person enrolled under a final agreement — other than the Gwich’in Agreement — or a person who is a Tetlit Gwich’in. (Indien du Yukon)

In this Act, the expressions mines, minerals, right to work, specified substances and traditional territory have the same meanings as in the Umbrella Final Agreement.

In this Act, a reference to the granting of an interest in land includes only the granting of such an interest in circumstances where there is a discretion whether to grant it or not.

Where, in relation to any matter, a reference is made in this Act to consultation, the duty to consult shall be exercised

by providing, to the party to be consulted,

notice of the matter in sufficient form and detail to allow the party to prepare its views on the matter,

a reasonable period for the party to prepare its views, and

an opportunity to present its views to the party having the duty to consult; and

by considering, fully and fairly, any views so presented.

In the event of an inconsistency or conflict between a final agreement and this Act, the agreement prevails to the extent of the inconsistency or conflict.

This Act gives effect to provisions of the Umbrella Final Agreement respecting assessment of environmental and socio-economic effects.

The purposes of this Act are

to provide a comprehensive, neutrally conducted assessment process applicable in Yukon;

to require that, before projects are undertaken, their environmental and socio-economic effects be considered;

to protect and maintain environmental quality and heritage resources;

to protect and promote the well-being of Yukon Indian persons and their societies and Yukon residents generally, as well as the interests of other Canadians;

to ensure that projects are undertaken in accordance with principles that foster beneficial socio-economic change without undermining the ecological and social systems on which communities and their residents, and societies in general, depend;

to recognize and, to the extent practicable, enhance the traditional economy of Yukon Indian persons and their special relationship with the wilderness environment;

to guarantee opportunities for the participation of Yukon Indian persons — and to make use of their knowledge and experience — in the assessment process;

to provide opportunities for public participation in the assessment process;

to ensure that the assessment process is conducted in a timely, efficient and effective manner that avoids duplication; and

to provide certainty to the extent practicable with respect to assessment procedures, including information requirements, time limits and costs to participants.

The Impact Assessment Act does not apply in Yukon.

[Repealed, 2017, c. 34, s. 1]

The territorial minister may authorize a territorial agency or an employee of a territorial agency to carry out any of that minister’s functions under this Act.

The Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board is hereby established, consisting of

an executive committee of three persons;

four other members; and

an even number of additional members that may be fixed from time to time by the federal minister following consultation with the territorial minister and the first nations.

The federal minister shall appoint the members of the Board after seeking the views of the Minister of the Environment.

One member of the executive committee referred to in paragraph (1)(a) shall be appointed on the nomination of the Council, another on the nomination of the territorial minister and the third, being the Chairperson of the Board, following consultation by the federal minister with the other two members.

Of the four members of the Board referred to in paragraph (1)(b), two shall be appointed on the nomination of the Council and one on the nomination of the territorial minister.

If additional members of the Board are to be appointed pursuant to paragraph (1)(c), one-half shall be appointed on the nomination of the Council and one-half following consultation by the federal minister with the territorial minister.

The Council shall consult the first nations before nominating a person to the Board.

The Chairperson of the Board must be a resident of Yukon.

A majority of the members appointed on the nomination of the Council, as well as a majority of the other members excluding the Chairperson, must be residents of Yukon.

Subject to subsections (2) and (3), a member of the Board shall be appointed to hold office for a term of three years.

The first members appointed under subsections 8(3) and (4) on the nomination of the Council or the territorial minister shall be appointed for the term, not exceeding three years, specified by the Council or territorial minister when making the nomination, and the other first members shall be appointed for the term, not exceeding three years, specified by the federal minister.

In the event of a vacancy occurring during a member’s term of office, the federal minister may, subject to the requirements of sections 8 and 9 applicable to the appointment of that member, appoint another person to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term.

If a member is a member of the executive committee or of a panel of the Board and, while that committee or panel is conducting a screening or review of a project, their term expires before a decision document is issued by each decision body to whom the committee or panel has made a recommendation in respect of that project, they may — in accordance with the by-laws of the Board or, in the absence of an applicable by-law, the direction of the Chairperson — continue to perform their functions in relation to that screening or review until those decision documents are issued. For the purpose of the appointment of a replacement, the member’s office is considered to be vacant as soon as their term expires.

A member of the Board holds office during good behaviour but may be removed by the federal minister for cause or on any other ground set out in the by-laws of the Board.

The federal minister shall remove a member from office, in conformity with the regulations, if the federal minister determines that, because of a change in that member’s place of residence, the requirements of section 9 are no longer met.

Before a member nominated by the Council or the territorial minister is removed from office, the federal minister shall consult the Council or the territorial minister, as the case may be.

If a member is a member of the executive committee or of a panel of the Board and, while that committee or panel is conducting a screening or review of a project, they are removed from office under subsection (2) before a decision document is issued by each decision body to whom the committee or panel has made a recommendation in respect of that project, they may — in accordance with the by-laws of the Board or, in the absence of an applicable by-law, the direction of the Chairperson — continue to perform their functions in relation to that screening or review until those decision documents are issued. For the purpose of the appointment of a replacement, the member’s office is considered to be vacant as soon as they are removed from office.

The Chairperson, a member of the executive committee or any other member of the Board is eligible to be reappointed to the Board in the same or a different capacity.

A member of the Board may not participate in any business of the Board, the executive committee or a panel of the Board, if doing so would place the member in a material conflict of interest.

A member is not in a material conflict of interest solely by virtue of being a Yukon Indian person.

Each member of the Board shall be paid the fees or other remuneration that is fixed by the federal minister.

Each member is entitled to be reimbursed for any travel and living expenses incurred by the member in the course of performing duties under this Act, while absent from the member’s ordinary place of residence, that are consistent with directives of the Treasury Board.

The members of the Board and its employees are deemed to be employees for the purposes of the Government Employees Compensation Act and to be employed in the federal public administration for the purposes of any regulations made under section 9 of the Aeronautics Act.

A quorum of the Board consists of a majority of the members holding office or three members, whichever is greater.

Subject to the rules and by-laws, participation in a meeting of the Board, the executive committee or a panel of the Board may be by means of telephone or other communications facilities that are likely to enable all persons participating in the meeting to hear each other, and a person so participating is deemed to be present at the meeting.

The Board may, for the purposes of conducting the business of the Board and of designated offices in accordance with the approved budget of the Board, acquire property in its own name, dispose of such property and enter into contracts in the name of the Board.

Actions, suits or other legal proceedings in respect of any right or obligation acquired or incurred by the Board may be brought or taken by or against the Board in its own name in any court that would have jurisdiction if the Board were a corporation.

The Board may, in accordance with the approved budget of the Board, employ any officers and employees and engage the services of any agents, advisers and consultants that are necessary for the proper conduct of the business of the Board and of designated offices, fix the terms and conditions of their employment or engagement and pay their remuneration.

The members and employees of the Board shall be indemnified by the Board against all damages awarded against them, any settlement paid by them with the approval of the federal minister and all expenses reasonably incurred by them, in respect of any claim arising out of their functions as members or employees, if those functions were performed honestly and in good faith with a view to the best interests of the Board.

The main office of the Board shall be at Whitehorse or at any other place in Yukon that may be designated by the Governor in Council.

Following consultation by the federal minister with the territorial minister and the first nations, and in accordance with any agreement that may be concluded by those ministers with the first nations, the federal minister shall, by order, establish six contiguous assessment districts that together constitute the whole of Yukon.

Where the Board recommends, on the basis of operational requirements, a change in the number of contiguous assessment districts that constitute Yukon, the federal minister shall, by order, change the number of assessment districts in accordance with the Board’s recommendation, following consultation with the territorial minister and the first nations, or else provide written reasons to the Board for rejecting the recommendation.

The Board may, by order, alter the boundary between adjacent assessment districts, and shall do so where the federal minister changes the number of assessment districts.

Before altering the boundaries of assessment districts, the Board shall consult the designated offices for those assessment districts as well as the federal minister, the territorial minister, the Council and any first nation whose territory falls wholly or partly within those districts, and shall seek the views of residents and municipal governments of the communities located in those districts.

Sections 3, 5 and 11 of the Statutory Instruments Act do not apply in respect of an order altering boundaries, but the Board shall publish a notice of the order in the Canada Gazette, in a periodical that, in the Board’s opinion, has a large circulation in Yukon and, if any part of the affected assessment districts falls within the territory of the Tetlit Gwich’in, in a periodical distributed in the Gwich’in Settlement Area referred to in the Gwich’in Agreement.

The federal minister shall name a community in each assessment district as the site of an office to be maintained by the Board and known as the designated office for that assessment district.

Before any change is made in the community named as the site of a designated office for an assessment district, the federal minister shall consult the territorial minister, the Council and any first nation whose territory falls wholly or partly within that district, and shall seek the views of residents and municipal governments of the communities located in that district.

The federal minister shall publish a notice of the selection of a community, or of any change in the selection, in the Canada Gazette, in a periodical that, in the federal minister’s opinion, has a large circulation in Yukon and, if any part of the affected assessment district falls within the territory of the Tetlit Gwich’in, in a periodical distributed in the Gwich’in Settlement Area referred to in the Gwich’in Agreement.

The staff of each designated office shall be composed of employees of the Board assigned to that office by the Board.

The Board shall authorize one or more members of the staff to exercise the powers of the designated office relating to evaluations, and those persons may delegate any of those powers to another member of the staff.

A member of the staff of a designated office may not participate in any business of that office if doing so would place the member in a material conflict of interest.

A member of the staff is not in a material conflict of interest solely by virtue of being a Yukon Indian person.

The Board shall, at the request of a designated office but in accordance with the approved budget of the Board, procure services required by that office and make property and facilities available to it.

Each designated office shall annually, after consultation with any first nation whose territory falls wholly or partly within its assessment district, prepare and submit a budget for the ensuing fiscal year to the Board.

The Board shall submit annually to the federal minister its budget for the ensuing fiscal year, which shall incorporate the budgets of the designated offices as submitted by them or as varied by the Board.

The federal minister may approve the budget as submitted by the Board, or with any variations that the federal minister may make after seeking the views of the Board, the territorial minister and the Council.

The Board shall consider including in its annual budget funding in order to enable its members and employees to carry out their functions in their traditional languages and in order to provide its members and employees with training, including cross-cultural orientation and education, for the purpose of improving their ability to carry out their duties.

The Board shall maintain books of account and related records in accordance with accounting principles recommended by the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada or its successor.

The Board shall, within the time after the end of each fiscal year that the federal minister specifies, prepare consolidated financial statements in respect of that fiscal year in accordance with the accounting principles referred to in subsection (1) and shall include in them any information or statements that are required in their support.

The accounts, financial statements and financial transactions of the Board shall be audited annually by the auditor of the Board and, where the federal minister requests, by the Auditor General of Canada. The auditor and, where applicable, the Auditor General of Canada shall, as soon as practicable, make a report of the audit to the Board and the federal minister.

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.

The Board shall make rules, applicable to screenings by the executive committee and reviews by panels of the Board, with respect to

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

the determination of the scope of a project;

for the purposes of section 46, the participation of interested persons and the public; and

the periods, for each step from the submission or referral of a proposal to the conclusion of the screening or review of the project or existing project, within which the executive committee and panels of the Board must perform their functions.

The Board may make rules with respect to

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

the conduct of screenings of projects by the executive committee and reviews of projects by panels of the Board;

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

the membership of panels of the Board and the establishment of their terms of reference; and

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

The Board may make rules with respect to

reviews of existing projects, reviews of plans and reviews of activities outside Yukon;

the conduct of audits, and effects monitoring, of projects and existing projects under sections 110 and 111; and

the conduct of studies and research under section 112.

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.