ADVANCING REGIONAL STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT IN CANADA'S WESTERN ARCTIC: IMPLEMENTATION OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

The absence of Regional Strategic Environmental Assessment (R-SEA) in Canada's western Arctic has raised many questions concerning the country's preparedness for offshore Arctic energy development, given the constraints of project assessments in addressing long-term cumulative impacts of energy development on the marine environment and local communities. There has been much interest in R-SEA in recent years, and a growing body of research on the benefits of strategic approaches to environmental assessment, but relatively little attention has been given to implementation. This paper examines key opportunities for and challenges to the implementation of R-SEA in Canada's western Arctic. Results reinforce concerns that the current approach to environmental assessment in Canada's western Arctic is insufficient to address expanding offshore energy development. However, results also indicate several challenges to be addressed to advance R-SEA in the offshore environment including governance, stakeholder resistance to a futures-based approach, the timing of implementation, managing the diversity of expectations about R-SEA, and the nature and scope of alternatives assessment.