Amended: January 2014, February 2024 and October 2025

Introduction

This guide has been developed for proponents of public transit and rail projects, the public, and Indigenous communities. This guide outlines:

This guide will also help the public, other interested persons and Indigenous communities understand how they can get involved.

The Comprehensive EA Projects Regulation designates certain public transit and provincial rail projects undertaken by the MTO, ONTC, municipalities and Metrolinx under part II.3 (comprehensive environmental assessment) of the EAA. This regulation then exempts these projects on the condition that the projects are carried out in accordance with O. Reg. 231/08.

The project assessment process is a proponent-driven, self-assessment process and a transit or rail project that follows the process does not require an approval of the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (minister) to proceed.

Proponents must complete the prescribed steps of the project assessment process within the specified time frames. The process allows for an assessment of potential environmental impacts to be completed within 6 months.

Nonetheless, proponents should continue to carry out recognized best practices in the field of environmental assessment (EA) when planning and determining the scale and scope of a transit or rail project, before beginning the project assessment process under O. Reg. 231/08. It may take longer than 6 months to:

  • conduct good planning
  • base proponent choices on sound scientific approaches and methods
  • inform and involve the local community and Indigenous communities.

Using these best practices can make the transit and rail project assessment process, once it commences, move more quickly and smoothly.

O. Reg. 231/08 provides a framework for focused consultation and objection processes. This process is intended to be focused, so that the assessment of potential environmental effects and decision-making can be completed within 6 months.

The process starts with the public transit or rail project that the proponent has selected. O. Reg. 231/08 does not require proponents to look at the rationale and planning alternatives or alternative solutions to either:

  • public transit or rail
  • particular designated public transit or rail project

Section 1 of this guide describes the main elements of the 2 regulations that apply to transit and rail projects.

Section 2 describes in more detail the project assessment process set out in O. Reg. 231/08.

Section 3 discusses other relevant topics and section 4 provides a summary of roles and responsibilities.

Legislative Authority:
Environmental Assessment Act, R.S.O 1990, chapter E.18

This guide is intended for information purposes only. It should not be used as a substitute for the Environmental Assessment Act or any of its regulations. In the event of any inconsistency between this guide and the act or regulations, the latter prevail.

Updates:

In February 2024, the ministry updated the:

  • guide to reflect the implementation of Part II.3 of the Environmental Assessment Act (EAA), O. Reg. 50/24 (Part II.3 Projects – Designations and Exemptions) and related regulations
  • environmental assessment (EA) requirements for transit projects to address rail projects undertaken by the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission that are now subject to the process

Readers should check online or call the Environmental Assessment Branch to find out if there have been any revisions.

Any comments, suggestions for revision or clarification are welcomed and should be sent to the Director of the Environmental Assessment Branch at the following address.

Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
Environmental Assessment Branch
135 St. Clair Avenue West,    
Toronto, Ontario M4V 1P5, Canada

Tel: 416-314-8001     
Toll-free: 1-800-461-6290     
Fax: 416-314-8452     
E-mail: EABDirector@ontario.ca     
Website: Environmental assessments

Under section 31(1)(e), the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks may gather, publish and disseminate information with respect to the environment or environmental assessments for the purposes of administrating and enforcing the Environmental Assessment Act and regulations made thereunder. Therefore, the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks expects that this guide will be considered by proponents.

Glossary

The Environmental Assessment Act (EAA) and Comprehensive EA Projects Regulation sets out the transit and rail projects which are designated and exempted. Ontario Regulation 231/08, Transit and Rail Project Assessment Process Regulation (O. Reg. 231/08) sets out the project assessment process (project assessment process or transit and rail project assessment process) that must be followed for those transit and rail projects that are conditionally exempted. The regulations also contain other relevant terms. The following are additional terms used in this guide. To understand these terms properly, the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks recommends that both the terms identified in here and, in the regulations and the EAA be consulted. In all cases, the wording and provisions in the EAA, the Comprehensive EA Projects Regulation, and O. Reg. 231/08 prevail over what is set out in this guide.

Aboriginal Peoples
The Constitution Act 1867 to 1982 specifies that Aboriginal peoples include First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples of Canada. For the purposes of this guide, Aboriginal peoples, Aboriginal communities, and Indigenous communities are terms which are used interchangeably.
Environmental Assessment Branch
Environmental Assessment Branch (branch or EAB), Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.
Class environmental assessment

A document that sets out a standardized planning process for those classes or groups of projects that proponents subject to the class EA must comply with before being authorized under the EAA to proceed with a project that is part of the class or group. It is also known as a parent document in some class environmental assessments. All the class EAs were approved under part II.3 of the EAA and generally apply to projects that are carried out routinely and have predictable environmental impacts that can be readily managed.

Projects that are within a class or group in a class EA do not require approval under part II.3 of the EAA. The projects can proceed subject to complying with the applicable class EA and provided no order is made by the minister under section 16 declaring that the project is a part II.3 project and thereby requiring the proponent to apply for approval under part II.3 to be able to proceed with the project. Such an order can be made on the minister’s own initiative or in response to a request for an order. A request for an order can only be made on the basis that the order may prevent, mitigate, or remedy adverse impacts to existing Aboriginal and treaty rights. An order may also impose conditions in addition to what is set out in a class EA and if such an order is made, a proponent must comply with the class EA and any such additional conditions.

Class environmental assessment project
A project that does not require any approval under the EAA and that is required to follow the planning process set out in the class EA document in order to be authorized to proceed. Any interested person may request the minister or delegate to order that a project subject to a class EA be effectively bumped up to a comprehensive EA by a Minister’s Order under section 16, either on their own initiative or in response to a request on the grounds that the order may prevent, mitigate or remedy adverse impacts to existing Aboriginal and treaty rights.
Commitment
Represents an obligation of a proponent to undertake a certain course of action, that is, “I will do this, at this time, in this way.” A proponent acknowledges these obligations by documenting these in its environmental project report (EPR). The commitments described in the EPR, revised EPR or EPR addendum are legally binding obligations.
Comprehensive environmental assessment
A term used to describe the application for and the process of seeking approval under part II.3 of the EAA for approval to proceed. This term is equivalent to the term individual EA as the term that was used to describe the process under part II.3 of the EAA before that part was repealed.
Director
Director of the Environmental Assessment Branch, Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.
Interested persons
Persons with an interest in a particular project often include:
  • neighbours and individuals
  • environmental groups or clubs
  • naturalist organizations
  • agricultural organizations
  • sports or recreational groups
  • organizations from the local community
  • municipal heritage committees
  • ratepayers associations
  • cottage associations
  • Indigenous communities
  • businesses

For the purposes of O. Reg. 231/08, in addition to those listed above, municipalities, regulatory agencies and any persons identified by the director are considered interested persons as well.

Minister
Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.
Ministry
Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.
Proponent
A person who carries out or proposes to carry out a project or is the owner or person having charge, management or control of a project. Ministry of Transportation (MTO), municipalities, Metrolinx and Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC) are the proponents of the transit and rail projects which are designated under the Comprehensive EA Projects Regulation.
Public record file
A public record file is maintained by the branch for every designated transit and rail project subject to either the:
  • streamlined assessment process set out in O. Reg. 231/08
  • municipal class EA
  • class EA for provincial transportation facilities and municipal expressways

The purpose of the public record file is to promote transparency and to keep a record

Regulatory agency
Government bodies who may have an interest or who participate in and contribute to the review of documentation prepared by the proponent for a transit or rail project by providing comments based on their mandate including:
  • ministries
  • agencies
  • authorities
  • departments (federal; provincial, including local conservation authorities; and, local or municipal bodies, including local boards of health)

For the purposes of O. Reg. 231/08 – Transit and Rail Project Assessment Process, regulatory agencies are interested persons.

Sensitive area
As defined in the Comprehensive EA Projects Regulation, a sensitive area means either:
  1. an area of residential land use
  2. an environmentally-sensitive area such as an area that includes either:
    • natural heritage features
    • cultural heritage or archaeological resources
    • recreational land uses or other sensitive land uses
Transit or rail project means a project that is either:
  1. Designated as a Comprehensive EA Projects Regulation, made under the EAA
  2. Deemed to be a part II.3 project under clause 9 (a) of the General and Transitional Matters Regulation made under the EAA
Transit and rail project assessment process
The project assessment process for transit and rail projects is set out in sections 6 through 17 of O. Reg. 231/08. This process applies to transit and rail projects that are set out in the Comprehensive EA Projects Regulation and are undertaken by:
  • Ministry of Transportation (MTO)
  • municipalities
  • Metrolinx
  • Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC)

The project assessment process is a focused assessment process that includes requirements for:

  • consultation
  • an assessment of potential positive and negative impacts from the project
  • an assessment of measures to mitigate negative impacts and environmental monitoring
  • documentation requirements