Changes to the Numbering of Regulations Please be advised that the numbers of one or more of the regulations listed below have been changed since this document was originally published. Following the adoption of the Act respecting the Compilation of Québec Laws and Regulations, RSQ, c R-2.2.0.0.2, the ministère de la Justice began on January 1, 2010 to change the numbering of selected regulations, including those related to the Environment Quality Act, RSQ, c Q-2. Please visit http://www.mddep.gouv.qc.ca/publications/lois-reglem-en.htm for more details about this change. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT OF NORTHERN PROJECTS TABLE OF CONTENT Foreword ........................... 3 TheJamesBayand NorthernQuébecregion............... 4 TheJamesBayand NorthernQuebecAgreement .......... 6 Tworegimes;oneconcern ............. 8 Afive-stepprocess................... 10 Projectssubjecttotheassessment andreviewprocedure................ 13 1 FOREWORD InaccordancewiththeJamesBayand NorthernQuebecAgr eementandthe NortheasternQuebecAgreement,which weresignedbytheNativepeoplesofthe northernregions,ChapterIIoftheEnvir on- mentQualityAct(EQA)containsspecific provisionsapplicabletoJamesBayand NorthernQuebec.Theparticularenvironmental assessmentpr oceduresforthesenorthern regionsstandapartdueto,amongother things,theactiveparticipationoftheCree, InuitandNaskapicommunities. Thisbrochureaimstoexplainthecharacteris- ticsoftheseregimesaswellasthebodies responsibleforimplementingthesocialand environmentalimpactsassessmentandreview processandthepr ojectsubjectedtoor exemptfromtheprocedure. 3 THE JAMES BAY AND NORTHERN QUÉBEC Geography of the region REGION TheJamesBayandNorthernQuébecregion, alittlemorethan1millionkm 2 inarea,repre- sentabouttwo-thirdsofQuébec’stotalland mass.Itislocatedbetweenthe49thand62nd parallelsofnorthernlatitude. Native population Humanpresenceintheseregionsdatesback about4 000years.TheCree,Inuit,and Naskapipractice,toalargedegr ee,atradi- tionalwayoflifebasedonhunting,fishing andtrapping.Formerlynomadic,theynow liveinpermanentvillages. TheCrees,whonumber ed7 000in1977,are nearly13 500-stronginninevillagestoday. Overthesameperiod,theInuitpopulation hasrisentoover9 000from4 900with15Inuit communitiesspreadoutalongthecoast.In addition,therearecloseto800Naskapi IndianslivinginKawawachikamach,inthe easternpartoftheregion. Non-Native population Morethan20 000non-Nativesliveinthe region,concentratedmainlyalongthesouth- ernborder.Theeconomyofthesecommu- nitiesismainlybasedonnaturalresour ce development. 4 MAP OF TERRITORY DIVISION TerritorysubjecttotheJBNQA(northof55thparallel) TerritorysubjecttotheJBNQA(southof55thparallel) Moinierregion TerritoryunderchapterIoftheEnvironmentQualityAct 5 THE JAMES BAY AND NORTHERN QUEBEC AGREEMENT A wide-ranging, The Peace of the Braves and the progressive pact Sanarrutik agreement TheJamesBayandNorthern OnFebruary7,2002,QuebecandtheCrees QuebecAgreement(JBNQA) signedafiftyyearspoliticalandeconomic isasocialandeconomicpact agreement.Thisagreement,dubbedthe signedby,ontheoneside, Peace of the Braves, marksthebeginningof theGovernmentofQuébec, anewerainQuebecandCreerelations, Hydro-Québec,theJamesBay basedon: EnergyCorporationandthe • anewpartnership,aimingtoensurefull JamesBayDevelopmentCor- developmentoftheterritory; porationand,ontheother side,bytheGrandCounciloftheCrees • autonomyandincreasedmanagementby ofQuebec,representingJamesBayCrees, theCreesoftheirowneconomicandcom- andtheNorthernQuebecInuitAssociation, munitydevelopment; representingNorthernQuebecInuit.The GovernmentofCanadaisalsoasignatoryof • respectoftheprinciplesofsustainable theAgreement. developmentandofthetraditionalwayof livingoftheCrees. SignedonNovember11,1975,theJBNQA OnApril9,2002,QuebecandtheInuitsigned wasratifiedbytheCreeandInuitthrough apartnershipagreementoneconomicand referendumsheldinNativecommunities. communitydevelopmentinNunavik.This TheJBNQAisbasedontwoequallyimportant twenty-fiveyearsagreementconsolidatesthe harmoniousrelationsbetweenQuebecand foundingprinciples. 1 Thefirstis:“Québec needstousetheresourcesofitsterritory,allits theNunavikInuit.ItisnamedSanarrutik, which territory,forthebenefitofallitspeople.”The means“developmenttool”inInuktitut.This otheris:“We(theGovernmentofQuébec) partnershipagreementisbasedon: mustrecognizetheneedsoftheNativepeo- • thedesiretodevelopNunavik’spotential ples,theCreeandtheInuit,whohavea whilerespectingtheenvironment; differentcultureandadifferentwayoflife fromthoseofotherpeoplesofQuébec”.The • agreaterresponsibilitybytheInuitfortheir Agreementseekstoharmonizethesetwo economicandcommunitydevelopment. principles. 1 ExtractfromtheConventionpreface. 6 Environmental protection regimes AfterthesigningoftheJBNQA,theenvir on- mentalpr otectionregimenorthofthe55th Thelandclaimssystemimposedbythe parallelhasbeenadaptedtoallowthe JBNQAsatisfiestheneedsoftheNativepeo- Naskapistoparticipateintheenvironmental pleandthoseoftherestofQuebecers. assessmentofprojectsprocess.Specific CategoryIlandsaregrantedtoeachCr ee measuresareapplicabletothe“Moinier” andInuitcommunityforitsexclusiveuse. regionwher ethelistofprojectssubjectto CategoryIIlandsarebufferzoneswhere theenvironmentalassessmentandr eview Nativepeoplehavetheexclusiverightto procedurecorrespondstoannexAofthe hunt,fish,trapandestablishoroperateoutfit- EnvironmentalQualityAct,whiletheinfor ma- tingfacilities.CategoryIIIlandsarepublic tionandconsultationpr ocessisthesameas landsonwhichNativepeoplecan,while inSouthernQuebec. respectingtheprinciplesofconservation, carryontheirtraditionalactivitiesyear-round, andonwhichtheyhaveexclusiverightsto certainanimalspecies.Fortheseterritories, theJBNQAestablishedtwoparticularenvi- ronmentalprotectionregimesforbothsides ofthe55thparallel. Table 1 LANDS REGIME DEFINED BY THE JAMES BAY AND NORTHERN QUEBEC AGREEMENT CategoryIlands Landssurroundingvillagesthatareset -14 348km2 (5 540mi2) asidefortheexclusiveuseandbenefit -1.3%oftheterritory oftheCree,InuitorNaskapi CategoryIIlands Publiclandswithhunting,fishingand -159 880km2 (61 730mi2) trappingrightsexclusivetothe -14.8%oftheterritory Nativepeople CategoryIIIlands PubliclandswithrightstotheNative -907 772km2 (350 490mi2) peopleforhunting,fishingandtrapping -83.9%oftheterritory withoutapermit,withoutlimitandatall times,subjecttotheconservationprinciple TOTAL:1 082 000km2 (417 760mi2) 7 TWO REGIMES; ONE CONCERN Issues requiring special attention TheintentionoftheJBNQAisthatthegovern- mentsresponsibleandorganizationscreated Participation of Native people tofunctionwithintheenvironmentalprotec- Theenvironmentalprotectionregimes tionregimesmustpayparticularattentionto definedbytheJBNQA,andincludedin thefollowingissues: ChapterIIoftheEnvironmentalQualityAct, areaimedatensuringspecialparticipationto • therighttosetupdevelopmentprojectsin theenvironmentalassessmentprocessbythe theregion; Nativessothattheycanprotecttherights • Nativeparticipationinapplyingtheenvi- andguaranteesgrantedtothemunderthe ronmentalprotectionregime; Agreement.Thisparticipationisassur ed throughconsultationandr epresentation • protectionofNativepeoples,theirsoci- mechanisms,withinwhichtheCreesandInuit eties,communitiesandeconomy; havemajorroles(table2). • protectionofNativehunting,fishingand trappingrights; • reductionofundesirabler epercussions fromdevelopment; • protectionofregionalwildlifeandecosys- tems; • therightsandinterestsofnon-Natives. Environmental advisory committees UndertheJBNQA,twoenvironmentaladviso- rycommitteeswerecreated,oneforthe regionsouthofthe55thparallelandtheother fortheregionnorthofthe55thparallel.The JamesBayAdvisoryCommitteeonthe Environment(JBACE)andtheKativik EnvironmentalAdvisoryCommittee(KEAC) arethebodiescomposedofNative,provin- cialandfederalrepresentativeswhichactas thepreferentialandofficialforumsconcern- ingenvironmentalprotectionmatters.Inaddi- tion,theysupervisetheapplicationand administrationoftheenvir onmentalprotec- tionregimescontainedintheAgreement. 8 Bodies responsible for environmental Forprojectswithinfederaljurisdiction,there assessment areprovisionsforbipartite(Canada/Creeor Canada/Inuit)committees. Twocommitteesandonecommissionwere createdtoevaluateandreviewdevelop- mentprojectswithinthejurisdictionof Administrator Quebec: AccordingtotheJBNQA,theAdministratoris • theEvaluatingCommittee(COMEV)isatri- thepersonrequiredtomakeafinaldecision partiteQuebec/Canada/Creeagency ontheassessmentandreviewofdevelop- responsibleforassessinganddrawingup mentprojects,basingthatdecisionuponthe guidelinesfortheimpactstudyofprojects recommendationsofthecommitteesand locatedsouthofthe55thparallel; commissions.ThispersoniseithertheMinister oftheEnvironmentofQuebec,iftheprojectis • theReviewCommittee(COMEX)isabipar- titeQuebec/Creeagencyresponsiblefor provincialinnature,thechair manofthe reviewingpr ojectslocatedsouthofthe FederalEnvironmentalAssessmentReview 55thparallel; Office,iftheprojectisfederalinnature,orthe AdministratoroftheappropriateCr eeBand • theKativikEnvironmentalQualityCom- Council,iftheprojectisonCategoryIland. mission(KEQC),composedofQuebecand Inuitr epresentatives,isresponsiblefor assessingandreviewingprojectslocated northofthe55thparallel. Table 2 COMPOSITION AND ROLE OF COMMITTEES AND COMMISSION Members designated by: Québec Canada Cree Inuit Role JBACE* 4 4 4 - Consultation and surveillance KEAC 3 3 - 3 Consultation and surveillance COMEV 2 2 2 - Preliminary assessment and drawing up of guidelines COMEX 3 - 2 - Review KEQC 5 - - 4 Assessment and review * ThepresidentoftheHunting,FishingandT rappingCoordinatingCommitteeis,inaddition,automatically amemberofthiscommittee.Thecoordinatingcommitteeisanadvisoryagency(Native/provincial/