Nature Canada/WCEL Factum in Impact Assessment Act Reference Case

In September 2019, Alberta launched a constitutional reference (legal challenge) of Canada’s new Impact Assessment Act.

West Coast Environmental Law is intervening in the reference on behalf of Nature Canada, defending Canada’s right to evaluate projects’ impacts on federal matters, such as fisheries and navigation, and take a precautionary and sustainability-based approach to impact assessment. In this factum filed with the Alberta Court of Appeal, Staff Lawyer Anna Johnston lays out our main arguments in the case.