Environment committee  Mr. Chair, because we haven't assessed and arrived at a decision, either under CEAA 2012 for what was then a low-level and intermediate-level DGR, and we haven't had a new application come forward for another DGR, I can't comment on that. What I can comment on is the robustness

Environment committee  Mr. Chair, as I mentioned at the beginning, the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada is responsible for conducting the assessments. At the same time, we recognize that the Nuclear Safety Commission also has overlapping responsibilities. It is the reason why we set up a memorandum o

Environment committee  Mr. Chair, we have an excellent working relationship with the Nuclear Safety Commission. We've done coordinated assessments with the Nuclear Safety Commission in the past, and I have full confidence that we will be able to undertake assessments in a coordinated manner in the futu

Environment committee  I do. I think that—

Environment committee  I think the public should have confidence in the assessments undertaken by the Nuclear Safety Commission. I have no reason to doubt that those are robust assessments.

Environment committee  I would say, as I mentioned, Mr. Chair, in my previous answers, that we've learned a lot about individual assessments, and we would use the Impact Assessment Act to look at future nuclear projects. The fact that Chalk River is undergoing an assessment under CEAA 2012 is something

Environment committee  Mr. Chair, the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada reviews some of the most controversial and polarizing projects that Canada has to offer. One of the hallmarks of our process is its transparency and our allowing of those views to come forward. It's really up to the agency, when w

Environment committee  Do they know that? I think it's one of the jobs of the agency or review panel to explain the process that's going to be applied to an individual project. Each time we harmonize, say, with another provincial jurisdiction or we're working with an indigenous group, there might be di

Environment committee  There are a number of differences that have come into play with the new Impact Assessment Act. We have a new planning process. For example, we have a nuclear project that meets the requirements of regulation. That goes into a planning process where we would sit down with indige

Environment committee  It's very different, from the front, middle and end.

Environment committee  Mr. Chair, as I mentioned to a previous committee member in one of my responses, the regulations dictate the type of nuclear activity or project that we would be assessing. When it comes to the storage of nuclear waste, section 28 of our physical activities regulations lays out w

Environment committee  The request came from Mayor Jim Watson, City of Ottawa. The minister, in making public his reasons for the decision, cited the fact that in the original request for a regional assessment, there was reference made to the individual projects that are taking place and currently bein

Environment committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Impact Assessment Agency has learned a lot over time about how assessments should be conducted from an administration standpoint and also from a science standpoint. We would expect to bring the learning we've done from those individual assessments to be

Environment committee  Mr. Chair, there are provisions in the Impact Assessment Act that allow the minister to designate individual projects that aren't described in a regulation to enter the impact assessment process. That is one mechanism the minister has to bring in projects that aren't described in

Environment committee  Mr. Chair, there are active assessments ongoing for nuclear projects under CEA 2012, yes.