A-2.001 - Act respecting the acceleration of certain infrastructure projects

Section 42 Disposition versions

2020-12-11

42. For the purposes of this subdivision,

(1)  the rules of procedure adopted by the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement under section 6.6 of the Environment Quality Act (chapter Q-2) apply when the Bureau performs a mandate entrusted to it according to the provisions of this subdivision;

(2)  “issue” means any major concern for the Government, the scientific community or the public, including the Aboriginal communities concerned, the analysis of which could influence the Government’s decision as to the authorization of a project; and

(3)  a complete impact assessment statement is an impact assessment statement that contains all the information identified for that purpose in the directive of the minister responsible for the environment sent in accordance with section 31.3 of the Environment Quality Act and the information mentioned in section 52 of this Act.

Unless otherwise provided by this subdivision, the provisions of the Environment Quality Act concerning the environmental impact assessment and review procedure and those of the Regulation respecting the environmental impact assessment and review of certain projects (chapter Q-2, r. 23.1) apply to an infrastructure project, with the following modifications:

(1)  the project proponent is the public body that has developed the project;

(2)  the definition of “issue” set out in subparagraph 2 of the first paragraph of this section applies;

(3)  mandates entrusted to the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement under the fifth paragraph of section 31.3.5 of the Environment Quality Act and referred to in sections 31.3.6 and 31.3.7 of that Act and in section 16 and subparagraphs 3 and 7 of the first paragraph of section 18 of the Regulation respecting the environmental impact assessment and review of certain projects are mandates entrusted to the Bureau under the second paragraph of section 45 of this Act;

(4)  a reference to the sixth paragraph of section 31.3.5 of the Environment Quality Act is a reference to the third paragraph of section 45 of this Act;

(5)  an admissible impact assessment statement is an impact assessment statement that contains all the information identified for that purpose in the minister’s directive sent in accordance with section 31.3 of the Environment Quality Act and the information mentioned in section 52 of this Act;

(6)  an application record is complete when the minister has completed his or her consideration of the application; and

(7)  the model notice set out in Schedule 3 to the Regulation respecting the environmental impact assessment and review of certain projects is to be read without reference to “that the project’s environmental impact assessment statement has been deemed to be admissible by the Minister of Sustainable Development, the Environment and the Fight Against Climate Change and” and by replacing “public consultation” by “targeted consultation”.

For the purposes of subparagraph 2 of the first paragraph, an issue must be determined on the basis of the following criteria in particular:

(1)  the project’s level of social acceptability;

(2)  the extent, frequency, duration or intensity of the project’s impacts;

(3)  the impact on current and future use of the land concerned by the project by the various users;

(4)  the importance given by the public to a component affected by the project;

(5)  the impact on a component of a setting that is recognized under a conservation measure;

(6)  the effects on sensitive areas of interest; and

(7)  the project’s impact on greenhouse gas emissions.

2020, c. 27, s. 42.