This is a cabinet directive that was adopted about ten years ago, actually. It's been in place since then. It's not a legally binding instrument, but it's politically binding in the sense that it provides the cabinet's expectations for departments and agencies with regard to what they are required to do prior to submitting the proposal for cabinet consideration.
Essentially, it requires that there be an environmental assessment for any policy plan or program proposal submitted for ministerial approval. That would obviously be at a high level and not at a project level, a qualitative level rather than a quantitative level. That way all the environmental implications--both positive and negative as well as the overall environmental implications of the proposal as it is crafted--can be considered so that when the proposal is submitted for cabinet approval, the cabinet decision can be made with full understanding and knowledge of the environmental implications.
Typically, when a detailed strategic environmental assessment is conducted, options to mitigate the potential adverse impacts resulting from the proposal or proposals or to enhance the positive impacts that may result from the proposal are attached. Again, it's not legally binding, in the sense that even when it goes to cabinet, cabinet is obliged to comply with it in terms of attaching mitigation measures, for instance. The whole purpose, like the project EA process in a way, is to make sure the decisions that are made at the project level or policy level are well informed from an environmental standpoint.
As I mentioned earlier, I was informed a bit earlier by Mr. Osbaldeston that such a strategic assessment of the initial initiative that is before you was done, and the intent is to update that strategic environmental assessment as the initiative is fine-tuned.