The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada says no to a federal assessment of the two fossil gas plants proposed for Pictou County by Joan Baxter May 15, 2026 Halifax Examiner
The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) has made an “early decision” on two fossil gas- and diesel-burning “peaker” plants proposed for Pictou County, Nova Scotia.
The IAAC didn’t use the full 180 days it has to decide whether or not it would undertake a federal impact assessment, and issued a statement today, saying it has “issued an early decision with reasons that no further assessment of the designated project is required under the Impact Assessment Act.”
This is despite numerous concerns about the plants raised by First Nations, environmental and health groups, and dozens of citizens worried about negative environmental and health impacts of the two 300-MW plants that would lock the province into another quarter century of fossil fuel use.
The plants are proposed by Nova Scotia’s Independent Energy System Operator (IESO) for two rural locations in Pictou County — Salt Springs and Marshdale. Both are close to sensitive and invaluable wild salmon rivers, and home to species at risk.
Nova Scotia Environment and Climate Change (NSECC) Minister Timothy Halman approved the two plants on Feb. 19. But many of those concerned that the provincial environment assessment process was flawed and rushed, were hoping that the federal agency would undertake its own independent impact assessment.
Those hopes were dashed today when the IAAC announced that it had “decided at an early stage that no further assessment is required” for the gas plants.
The IAAC made this decision despite the fact that it states that it is “satisfied that the carrying out of the project[s] may cause adverse effects within federal jurisdiction or direct or incidental adverse effects.” [italics added]
The IAAC justified this decision by claiming “the potential adverse effects within federal jurisdiction, or direct or incidental adverse effects, from the project would be limited or addressed through existing federal and provincial legislative and regulatory frameworks. This includes but is not limited to, the Fisheries Act, the Species at Risk Act, the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994, the Migratory Birds Regulations, 2022, the Nova Scotia Environment Act, the Air Quality Regulations, Contaminated Sites Regulations, the Nova Scotia Water Resources Protection Act, the Nova Scotia Endangered Species Act, and the Nova Scotia Special Places Protection Act.”
The Halifax Examiner predicted this outcome of the IAAC process in an article a week ago, on May 8, 2026, when we reported on a citizens’ group that is seeking a judicial review of the provincial environmental approval granted by NSECC Minister Halman.
Last month, the Examiner reported about “alarm bells” ringing over the “one project, one review” agreement signed between Ottawa and Nova Scotia, which would weaken environmental assessment processes and sideline the IAAC.
All of this seems in keeping with Prime Minister Mark Carney’s ongoing weakening and dismantling of environmental and climate protection policies and legislation in Canada.
Carney’s regulatory rollbacks and weakening of the impact assessment process in Canada have been described by Canada’s former Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault, who is a member of Carney’s caucus, as “beyond what Harper proposed when he was in power.”
The citizens who are seeking a judicial review of the provincial approval of the two gas plants will be heard in court in Pictou on June 4.