In October 2021, our team presented our preliminary research and methodologies at the Ontario Association for Impact Assessment conference, Common Goal, Uncommon Pathways. Dr. Dayna Scott (Osgoode Hall Law School/York University) and Laura Tanguay (Ph.D. Candidate, York University) presented to an audience of curious and experienced residents, scholars, industry, policymakers, and communities navigating impact assessments. The presentation was prepared by Laura and Isabel McMurray (Osgoode Hall Law Student). The conference theme encouraged reflection on the goal of Ontario’s Environmental Assessment Act to reach “betterment of the people of the whole or any part of Ontario by providing for the protection, conservation and wise management in Ontario of the environment”. Conference organizers invited presenters to consider experiences of delivering on the common goal of betterment, while considering the future of impact assessment, highlighting examples of what is working well. This platform served as an encouraging space to share preliminary ideas, research methods, and concerns regarding how Ontario’s new Environmental Assessment Act might fall short from the recommendations to procedural IA frameworks.