President's Response — Madawaska Wind Farm Project

Physical Activities

Parc éolien de la Madawaska S.E.C. is proposing to construct and operate a wind farm located in the regional county municipality (RCM) of Témiscouata in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, Quebec. As proposed, the Madawaska Wind Farm Project would involve the construction and operation of 45 windmills with a total capacity of 270 MW and would include a road network, a substation to the Hydro-Québec grid, and an electrical collector system that would be mostly underground.

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

Delegation of Powers to the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada

Under subsection 154(1) of the IAA as amended, the Minister of 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 not to designate the project pursuant to section 9(1) of the IAA.

Information Considered

In forming my response, I took into account the analysis prepared by IAAC.

Reasons

In making my decision not to designate the project, I considered whether the carrying out of the project could cause adverse effects within federal jurisdiction or direct or incidental adverse effects and concluded that the project could cause these adverse effects. I then considered public concerns related to these effects; adverse impacts on the rights of Indigenous Peoples; 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 have decided not to designate the Madawaska Wind Farm Project for the following reasons:

• The Project must be carried out in compliance with applicable federal and provincial legislative and regulatory mechanisms.
• The requirements under the following legislative mechanisms, some of which include consultation with Indigenous communities and public engagement, provide a framework for addressing public concerns related to the adverse effects within federal jurisdiction or the direct or incidental adverse effects that may be caused by the carrying out of the project and adverse impacts that the project may have on the rights of Indigenous Peoples recognized and affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.
• There is a means other than an impact assessment, such as the following legislative 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 mechanisms include:

• federal legislation, including Fisheries Act, Species at Risk Act and Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994; and
• provincial legislation, including Environment Quality Act, Sustainable Forest Development Act, Act respecting threatened or vulnerable species, Act respecting the conservation and development of wildlife and Cultural Heritage Act.