Mandate

The Kativik Environmental Quality Commission was established by virtue of section 23 of the James Bay and Northern Agreement (JBNQA) and is governed by section 181 to 213 of the Environment Quality Act (R.S.Q., c. Q.-2). The Commission has jurisdiction over the territory of Nunavik located north of the 55th parallel.

Section 23 of the JBNQA provides for two categories of projects: those that are automatically subject to the environmental and social impact assessment and review procedures, and those that are exempt. These two categories are described in Schedules 1 and 2 respectively of Section 23 of the Agreement. For projects other that those described in these two schedules (gray-area projects), the Commission, flowing a review of the preliminary information, transmits to the administrator (the Minister of the Sustainable Development, Environment and Parcs or the Deputy Minister) its decision as to the relevance of submitting the project to the assessment and review procedure. The government may exempt a project from all or any phases of the procedure if it deems it necessary in the public interest.

In the case of projects that are automatically subject to the assessment and review procedure or that are so deemed, the Commission has the mandate to make recommendations to the administrator regarding the content of the impact report (or the environmental impact statement – EIS) that the proponent must produce. The Commission is invited to examine this report and to judge whether it is complete and written as required. It is up to the administrator to make the final assessment as to the completeness of the report.

Once the EIS has been declared complete, and following the time limits set forth in the Agreement, the Commission decides whether or not to authorize the implementation of the project, taking into consideration the guiding principles set out in section 23.3.19 of the JBNQA and the impact statement. In transmitting its recommendations to the administrator, the Commission may formulate a series of conditions to improve certain aspects of the project. Once again, the final decision whether or not to authorize the implementation of a project falls to the administrator.

Tarmac in Puvirnituq. Credit: Kativik Regional Government