Minister's Response with Reasons

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Document Reference Number: 3

September 20, 2022

Steven Stark
Tsawwassen First Nation Member
President, Salish Sea Indigenous Guardians Association

Chief Harley Chappell
Semiahmoo First Nation
Vice President, Salish Sea Indigenous Guardians Association

Tumia Knott
Kwantlen First Nation
Treasurer and Secretary, Salish Sea Indigenous Guardians Association

C/O Marian Ngo
Executive Director, Salish Sea Indigenous Guardians Association

 

Steven Stark and cosignatories:

Thank you for your June 21, 2022 letter, sent on behalf of the Salish Sea Indigenous Guardians Association, in which you requested a regional assessment in the Salish Sea under the Impact Assessment Act (the IAA), including the entirety of the Salish Sea in Canada and the United States of America, its inner bodies of water, and the traditional fishing territories of Treaty Nations.

Upon receipt of your request, the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (the Agency) undertook a detailed review, taking into account the considerations laid out in applicable guidelines related to regional assessment requests, to inform my decision. Following careful consideration and analysis of your request, I have decided not to conduct a regional assessment of the Salish Sea at this time, for the reasons described below.

As you know, the Government of Canada is preparing a response to the Review Panel recommendations for the proposed Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Project. This includes a response to Recommendation 70, which suggests that two regional assessments be undertaken. The existing and planned programs and initiatives in the Salish Sea, and their ability to address the issues raised in your regional assessment request, will continue to be evaluated through the ongoing analysis being undertaken to inform the Government response to the Review Panel recommendations.

All of the information that was provided in relation to your request for a regional assessment in the Salish Sea will also be considered in the ongoing analysis and finalization of the Government response to the Review Panel recommendations for the proposed Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Project.

The ecological and cultural significance of the Salish Sea and the concerns around potential effects of development in this area, are certainly recognized. I am aware, as noted above, of existing and planned programs and initiatives that may be well placed to address the issues raised in your request, including to collect, make information accessible, and to consider and address potential and realized effects (including cumulative effects) associated with development in the Salish Sea. These programs, including the Salish Sea Initiative in which your organization participates, are undertaking important and valuable work to address key issues in the region.

One of the key objectives of regional assessments under the IAA is to inform and improve the e ffectiveness and efficiency of future project-specific impact assessments. As part of the assessment of the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Project, I will consider the extent to which a regional assessment in the Salish Sea is likely to be of benefit to the assessment of any new designated projects being contemplated in the region, as well as to ongoing developments and to project-specific assessments currently underway.

Documentation related to this regional assessment request, including your request and my response to it, will be posted on the Canadian Impact Assessment Registry at https://iaac-aeic.gc.ca/050/evaluations/proj/83741?culture=en-CA.

Thank you again for taking the time to prepare and submit this regional assessment request.

Sincerely,

<Original signed by>

The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, P.C., M.P. (he/him, il)

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