President's response

Physical activities

Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure is proposing to construct two new lanes along a 16-kilometre stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway, about five kilometres west of Provincial Road 301 and near the Manitoba/Ontario border in Whiteshell Provincial Park, Manitoba. As proposed, the Twinning of the Trans-Canada Highway Project in Manitoba would involve expanding the existing two-lane highway into four lanes, rebuilding or replacing two interchanges, upgrading access at Hunt Lake and Lyons Lake, and replacing the flyover of Provincial Road 301. Additionally, the project may include moving utilities, installing wildlife fencing and corridors, and building other related structures.

These physical activities are not prescribed by regulations made under subsection 109(b) of the Impact Assessment Act (IAA).

Delegation of powers to the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada

Under subsection 154(1) of the IAA as amended, the Minister of the Environment (the Minister) may, subject to any terms and conditions that the Minister specifies, delegate to the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) any powers, duties, or functions that the Minister is authorized to exercise or perform under the IAA. The Minister has delegated the powers under section 9 of the IAA to the President of IAAC.

Decision

I, Terence Hubbard, President of IAAC, have decided to not to designate the project pursuant to section 9 of the IAA.

Information considered

In forming my response, I took into account the analysis prepared by IAAC, in its Analysis Report.

Reasons

In making my decision to not designate the project, I considered whether the carrying out of the project may cause adverse effects within federal jurisdiction, or direct or incidental effects, and concluded that the project may cause these potential adverse effects. I then considered public concerns related to these effects; adverse impacts on the Aboriginal and treaty rights of Indigenous Peoples of Canada; and whether a means other than an impact assessment exists that would permit a jurisdiction to address the adverse effects within federal jurisdiction and the direct or incidental adverse effects.  

I decided not to designate the project for the following reasons.

• The project must be carried out in compliance with applicable federal and provincial legislative mechanisms.
• The requirements under the legislative mechanisms listed below, and related consultations with potentially impacted Indigenous Peoples and public engagement, provide a framework to address concerns raised by Indigenous groups and members of the public in relation to adverse federal effects.
• There are means other than an impact assessment, such as the following federal and provincial mechanisms, that would permit a jurisdiction to address the adverse effects within federal jurisdiction and the direct or incidental adverse effects that may be caused by the carrying out of the project. These legislative mechanisms include:
  • the federal Fisheries Act, Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994, Species at Risk Act, and Canadian Navigable Waters Act; and
  • Manitoba's The Environment Act, The Heritage Resources Act, The Fisheries Act, The Contaminated Sites Remediation Act, and The Endangered Species and Ecosystems Act.