Principles and Procedure

In carrying out its functions within its competence, the KEQC must pay particular attention to the following principles (JBNQA, Section 23.2.4):
  • The protection of Native people, societies, communities and economies, with respect to developmental activity affecting the Region;
  • The environmental and social protection regime with respect to minimizing the impacts on the Native people by developmental activity affecting the region;
  • The protection of the hunting, fishing and trapping rights of Native people in the Region and their other rights therein with respect to developmental activity affecting the Region;
  • The protection of wildlife resources, physical and biotec environment, and ecological systems in the Region with respect to developmental activity affecting the Region;
  • The involvement of the Native people and other inhabitants of the Region in the application of this regime;
  • The rights and interests of non-Native people, whatever they may be;
  • The right to develop, in accordance with the provision of the Agreement, by persons acting lawfully in the Region;
  • The minimizing of negative environmental and social impacts of development on Native people and non-Native people and on Native and non-Native communities by reasonable means with special reference to those measures proposed, recommended or determined by the impact assessment and review procedures. 
In addition, when evaluating of assessing each impact study and when rendering its decision on a project, the KEQC takes into account the following considerations, to which it gives such weight as it deems appropriate (JBNQA, Section 23.3.19):
  • The environmental and social impact of the development both beneficial and adverse;
  • Environmental adversities which cannot be avoided through present technological means and environmental adversities which were chosen not to be fully abated and the proponent's proposals to counterbalance such adversities;
  • Reasonable measures available to avoid or minimize adverse effects or to enhance beneficial effects;
  • Reasonable alternatives to the development as proposed and when appropriate reasonable alternatives to the proposed development;
  • The methods and procedures outlined by the proponent to adequately monitor emissions of contaminants or other environmental problems, where required;
  • Relationship of the proposed development to applicable existing or proposed environmental laws and regulations;
  • The methods or procedures outlined by the proponent to be put into effect in the event of accidents.

The environmental and social impact assessment and review procedure in Nunavik is framed by lists of projects listed in the JBNQA and the EQA. A first list enumerates the projects automatically subject to the procedure and a second list specifies those who are automatically exempt. All other projects submitted to the KEQC are in the "grey zone". For those latter, the KEQC decides whether they should be subject to the procedure and if it would allow environmental gains after its application.


Future developments automatically subject to the procedure:

a)
 all mining developments, including the additions to, alterations or modifications of existing mining developments;
b)
 ll borrow, sand and gravel pits and quarries, with areas of or over 3 hectares;
c)
 all hydro-electric power plants and nuclear installations and their associated works;
d)
 all storage and water supply reservoirs related to works intended to produce electricity;
e)
 all electric power transmission lines of over 75 kV;
f)
 all operations or installations related to the extraction or processing of energy yielding materials;
g)
 all fossil-fuel fired power generating plants with a calorific capacity of or above 3,000 KW;
h)
 any road or branch of such road of at least 25 km in length which is intented for forestry operations for a period of at least 15 years;
i)
 all wood, pulp and paper mills or other plants for the transformation or the treatment of forest products;
j)
 all land use projects which affect more than 65 km2;
k)
 all sanitary sewage systems including more than 1 km of piping and all waste water treatment plants designed to treat more than 200 kl of waste water per day;
l)
 all systems for the collection and disposal of residual materials, except mine tailings and hazardous materials;
m)
 all projects for the creation of parks or ecological reserves;
n)
 all outfitting facilities designed to accommodate at one time 30 persons or more, including networks of outpost camps;
o)
 the delimitation of the territory of any new community or municipality and any expansion of 20% or more of their total territory or their urbanized areas;
p)
 all access roads to a locality or road network contemplated for a new development;
q)
 all port and harbour facilities, railroads, airports, pipelines or dredging operations for the improvement of navigation.
(for more details, please refer to Schedule 1 of the Chapter 23 of the JBNQA and the Schedule A of the EQA)

Future developments automatically exempt from the procedure:
a)
 all hotels or motels of 20 beds or less and all service stations along highways;
b)
 all other structures intended for dwellings, wholesale and retail trade, or intended for offices or garages, or intended for handicrafts or car parks;
c)
 all fossil-fuel fired power generating plants having a calorific capacity below 3,000 kW;
d)
 all school or educational establishments, rest areas, observation points, banks, fire stations or immovable intended for administrative, recreational, cultural, religious, sport and health purposes or for telecommunications;
e)
 all control or transformer stations of a voltage of 75 kV or less, or electric power transmission lines of a voltage of 75 kV or less;
f)
 all water and sewer mains, and all oil or gas mains of less than 30 cm in diameter with a maximum length of 8 km;
g)
 all testing, preliminary investigation, research, experiments outside the plant, aerial or ground reconnaissance work and survey or technical survey works prior to any project;
h)
 all forestry development when included in plans provided for in the Forest Act (chapter F-4.1) provided that, where they are applicable to the territory referred to in section 133 of this Act, the plans governed by Division IV of Chapter III of Title I of the Forest Act, before being approved or finalized by the Minister of Natural Resources and Wildlife, were the subject of a consultation, in the case of a general plan, with the Cree-Québec Forestry Board as required under the second and third paragraphs of section 95.20 of that Act and, in the case of an annual plan, with the joint working group concerned, as required under paragraphs 37 and 39 of Part IV (C-4) of Schedule C to the Agreement Concerning a New Relationship Between le Gouvernement du Québec and the Crees of Quebec;
i)
 all municipal streets and sidewalks;
j)
 all maintenance and operation of public and private roads;
k)
 all repairs and maintenance on existing municipal works;
l)
 all temporary hunting, fishing and trapping camps and all outfitting facilities or camps for less than 30 persons;
m)
 all small wood cuttings for personal or community use;
n)
 all borrow pits for highway maintenance purposes.

Moreover, all projects carried out within the territorial limits of a non-Native community and which do not have an impact on the wildlife outside of these limits are exempt from sections 153 to 167.

Lastly, any project within the territorial limits of a community which does not have an impact on the wildlife outside of such limits as well as the extraction and handling of soapstone, sand, gravel, copper and wood for personal or community use are exempt from sections 187 to 204.

(for more details, please refer to Schedule 2 of the Chapter 23 of the JBNQA and the Schedule B of the EQA)