The ACCESS-BoFEP 2026 Conference program is available here
Abstract
Environmental assessment (EA) processes are intended to connect communities to the science and evidence used to inform decisions that affect communities, coastlines, and marine environments in Atlantic Canada. At both federal and provincial levels, EA legislation requires public access to assessment materials and opportunities for review and comment, positioning the public as active participants in scrutinizing the scientific evidence used to inform project decisions. However, less attention has been paid to whether the evidence provided in EA reports is documented in ways that allow it to be reliably located, verified, and reused by affected communities.
This study evaluates evidence transparency in seven provincial environmental assessments for green hydrogen projects with marine impacts in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador (2020–2025). Using a systematic audit of 1,483 cited sources, the research assesses how evidence is documented across six dimensions: accessibility, persistence, licensing and reuse clarity, machine-readability, provenance, and equity and permissions.
Findings show that while EA systems are procedurally open, evidence transparency is often limited. Most citations lacked persistent identifiers, functional links, or clear reuse permissions, making evidence difficult to trace and evaluate (mean 4.36/10; median 2.0/10).
Improving evidence stewardship can strengthen transparency, support public engagement, and ensure decisions affecting communities, coastlines, and marine environments in Atlantic Canada remain evidence-based and defensible, particularly as our government aims to streamline EA processes and shorten approval timelines, increasing the importance of accessible, verifiable evidence for timely and meaningful public scrutiny.
Poster
Citation
Keast, E., & Toze, S. (2026). An audit of evidence transparency in Atlantic Canada green hydrogen projects with marine impacts. ACCESS/BoFEP Conference, Sackville, New Brunswick, 19-22 May 2026.
Related Blog Post
Belen, A., Emery Webster, A., Keast, E., Legault, A., Margeson, K., Martinez Calderon, D., & Toze, S. (2026, June 25). “Connecting Communities to Ocean Science”: ACCESS-BoFEP Conference, 19-22 May 2026. EIUI Blog. https://eiui.ca/connecting-communities-to-ocean-science-the-access-bofep-conference-19-22-may-2026/