50 Years of Environmental Assessment in Canada: Challenges, Changes, Lessons, Opportunities

Friday, March 10, 3-4 p.m.

SN-2025

Geography Blue-box Seminar

Dr. Steve Bonnell

Adjunct Professor, MUN Geography

Director, Impact Assessment Agency of Canada

This year represents 50 years of environmental assessment (EA) processes and practice in Canada. Over that period, EA has become an important and widely used means of understanding and addressing the potential effects of proposed development activities in a variety of sectors and contexts. This presentation will provide an overview of the EA process, the continued evolution of its nature and scope, and some key areas of on-going discourse – based on observations from my 25 years as an EA practitioner in Canada. This includes highlighting how my work as a practitioner has influenced and shaped my academic interests, and vice versa. It will also introduce and describe some important, up and coming aspects of contemporary EA practice in Canada – namely, strategic and regional assessments – including their purpose, objectives and role in addressing some of the long-standing challenges of project-specific EA application.

The views presented are solely those of the author, and not necessarily those of any other individual or organization.

Presented by Department of Geography

Event Listing 2023-03-10 15:00:00 2023-03-10 16:00:00 America/St_Johns 50 Years of Environmental Assessment in Canada: Challenges, Changes, Lessons, Opportunities Geography Blue-box Seminar Dr. Steve Bonnell Adjunct Professor, MUN Geography Director, Impact Assessment Agency of Canada This year represents 50 years of environmental assessment (EA) processes and practice in Canada. Over that period, EA has become an important and widely used means of understanding and addressing the potential effects of proposed development activities in a variety of sectors and contexts. This presentation will provide an overview of the EA process, the continued evolution of its nature and scope, and some key areas of on-going discourse – based on observations from my 25 years as an EA practitioner in Canada. This includes highlighting how my work as a practitioner has influenced and shaped my academic interests, and vice versa. It will also introduce and describe some important, up and coming aspects of contemporary EA practice in Canada – namely, strategic and regional assessments – including their purpose, objectives and role in addressing some of the long-standing challenges of project-specific EA application. The views presented are solely those of the author, and not necessarily those of any other individual or organization. SN-2025 Department of Geography