Regional Assessment of Offshore Wind Development in Nova Scotia - Update

On March 23, 2023, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada announced the start of the Regional Assessment of Offshore Wind Development in Nova Scotia (the Regional Assessment) under the federal Impact Assessment Act. The announcement included the Agreement and the Terms of Reference for a five-member independent Committee along with biographies for each Committee member.

Under their Terms of Reference, the Committee will engage with Indigenous groups, non-government organizations, public stakeholders, and federal and provincial authorities in their conduct of the Regional Assessment, which will help inform future project-specific impact assessments and decisions for offshore wind projects in the Nova Scotia Study Area.

The Committee, and their Secretariat, had their first meeting on April 17, 2023, and have since been conducting research on offshore wind, reviewing work done during the planning phase, developing administrative protocols, and planning their engagement approach including the development of draft Participation Plans, which will be posted to the Registry. General engagement activities will begin in June 2023.

An early Expression of Interest related to advisory group participation was posted on the Regional Assessment's Registry site on February 28, 2023. The Committee would like to continue to encourage individuals and organizations interested in being a member of one or more of these advisory groups for the Regional Assessment, to fill in an Expression of Interest form. The Committee will seek assistance from advisory groups in identifying, providing, and supporting the use of Indigenous knowledge, Community knowledge, and scientific information in the conduct of the Regional Assessment, as appropriate; and, in identifying and evaluating information and knowledge gaps and recommended approaches to address these gaps. Work with Advisory Groups is expected to be initiated in June/July 2023.

All information about the Regional Assessment is available on the Regional Assessment Registry page. The Committee invites all Indigenous peoples, organizations, and any other person or group with information and interests related to the Regional Assessment, and who wishes to participate in it, to reach out via the Regional Assessment email (OffshoreWindNS-EolienneExtracotiereNE@iaac-aeic.gc.ca) and/or the public commenting tool with any questions or comments.