In 2016-2017, TGG participated in the Canadian Federal Environmental Assessment Review process, which led to major changes to federal environmental laws and energy regulation. Following the Review, the Impact Assessment Act (IAA) came into force in August 2019, replacing its predecessor, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA) of 2012. Compared to CEAA, the IAA has a much broader mandate, including consideration of environmental, health, social and economic effects of proposed projects. One of the important improvements in the impact assessment process for major projects is the federal government’s commitment to “make sure decisions on projects are guided by robust science, evidence and Indigenous traditional knowledge.”
The Office of the Chief Science Advisor (OCSA) is responsible for the review of the methods and integrity of the science used in these decisions. As part of its ongoing review, the OCSA is developing a set of tools to assist federal officials in evaluating the integrity, credibility and transparency of the science submitted by proponents, third parties and stakeholders as part of the assessment process. Doing so required engagement of external subject matter expertise. Consequently, the OCSA retained Brigid Rowan and Ian Goodman of TGG, together with John Todd of Elenchus Research Associates, to develop a tool for evaluating the credibility of claims about the economic effects of proposed projects.
The economic effects tool, delivered in February 2022, includes three components:
- an Excel spreadsheet, with embedded macros to allow federal assessors to input information about the data, methods, model and assumptions used by project proponents in generating predictions about economic effects;
- a technical report to acquaint federal officials with the key concepts required to use the tool effectively;
- a user guide that comprises a description of how to use the tool.
Update: The TGG-Elenchus Report has been used as the foundation of a technical guidance document on economic effects analysis to be published in late 2024 by the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada. It has also been extensively used to revise the economic effects requirements of the Tailored Impact Statement Guidelines for proposed projects. Our federal government client informs us that the Report “is having, and will continue to have, a major impact on the way economic development effects of projects are derived under the federal IA process.”