Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act (S.C. 1998, c. 25)

Marginal note:Delegation by federal Minister

122. The federal Minister may, in relation to a proposed development, delegate to any responsible minister the federal Minister’s duty to distribute reports made under this Part, to participate in decisions made following the consideration of such reports and to distribute decisions so made.

Marginal note:Exercise of powers under other Acts

123. For greater certainty, the Review Board may exercise any function conferred on it by or under any Act of Parliament or delegated to it under any Act of Parliament.

Marginal note:Consultation

123.1 In conducting a review or examination of the impact on the environment of a development, a review panel of the Review Board or a review panel, or a joint panel, established jointly by the Review Board and any other person or body,

• (a) shall carry out any consultations that are required by any of the land claim agreements; and

• (b) may carry out other consultations with any persons who use an area where the development might have an impact on the environment.

Marginal note:Conflict of interest

• 123.2 (1) A person shall not be appointed, or continue, as a member of a review panel of the Review Board or of a review panel, or a joint panel, established jointly by the Review Board and any other person or body, if doing so would place the member in a material conflict of interest.

• Marginal note:Status or entitlements under agreement

  (2) A person is not in a material conflict of interest merely because of any status or entitlement conferred on the person under the Gwich’in Agreement, the Sahtu Agreement, the Tlicho Agreement or any other agreement between a first nation and Her Majesty in right of Canada for the settlement of a claim to lands.

Marginal note:Nominations

123.3 In appointing a review panel of the Review Board or a review panel, or a joint panel, established jointly by the Review Board and any other person or body, the Review Board and those other persons or bodies shall comply with the requirements of land claim agreements respecting nominations for appointment.

Marginal note:Application to regulator

• 124. (1) Where, pursuant to any federal or territorial law specified in the regulations made under paragraph 143(1)(b), an application is made to a regulatory authority or designated regulatory agency for a licence, permit or other authorization required for the carrying out of a development, the authority or agency shall notify the Review Board in writing of the application and conduct a preliminary screening of the proposal for the development, unless the development is exempted from preliminary screening because

  • (a) its impact on the environment is declared to be insignificant by regulations made under paragraph 143(1)(c); or

  • (b) an examination of the proposal is declared to be inappropriate for reasons of national security by those regulations.

• Marginal note:Proposal not requiring application

  (2) Where a development that does not require a licence, permit or other authorization under any federal or territorial law is proposed to be carried out by a department or agency of the federal or territorial government or by the Gwich’in or Sahtu First Nation or the Tlicho Government, the body proposing to carry out that development shall, after notifying the Review Board in writing of the proposal for the development, conduct a preliminary screening of the proposal, unless

  • (a) in its opinion, the impact of the development on the environment will be manifestly insignificant; or

  • (b) the development is exempted from preliminary screening for a reason referred to in paragraph (1)(a) or (b).

• Marginal note:Preliminary screening by Gwich’in, Sahtu or Tlicho

  (3) The Gwich’in First Nation, the Sahtu First Nation or the Tlicho Government, as the case may be, may conduct a preliminary screening of a proposal for a development to determine whether to refer the proposal for an environmental assessment in accordance with paragraph 126(2)(b) or (c).

• Marginal note:Cooperation

  (4) Where more than one body conducts a preliminary screening in respect of a development, any of them may consult the others, adopt another’s report or participate in a joint preliminary screening and, where one of them is a board established under Part 3 or 4, the others are not required to conduct a preliminary screening.