After a marathon session in the lower chamber of Canada’s federal parliament, the Conservative government majority prevailed and its federal Budget Bill C-38 (Jobs, Growth and Long-Term Prosperity Act) became law at the end of June 2012. Bill C-38 brings with it considerable restructuring of Canadian environmental regulation. The federal government says that the objective of
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Ontario’s ambitious renewable energy program is under attack from all sides. In December 2011, the Auditor General criticized the province’s Feed-in Tariff (FIT) rates for renewable energy as being too costly (see the Manning Environmental Law blog post December 5, 2011) . In February of this year, the report of the Commission on the Reform
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In a last-minute deal reached on December 11, 2011 at the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meeting in Durban, South Africa, governments decided to adopt a universal legal agreement on climate change as soon as possible, but not later than
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The surprising thing about Canada’s May 2, 2011 federal election is not so much that the Canadian electorate returned a majority at last for Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s minority Conservative government but that it deserted the Liberal Party in droves to catapult the National Democratic Party (NDP) into second position, making the NDP Canada’s official opposition party for the first time in its history. Politically polarized to the right and to the left, the Conservatives and the NDP are also at odds in their approach to the environment […]
The Ontario Power Authority is developing two new Clean Energy Standard Offer Programs, one for natural gas-fired combined heat and power (CHPSOP), the other for energy recovery (ERSOP) from by-products fuel and under utilized energy resources. These programs potentially offer exciting opportunities for Ontario’s industries. Consultation will be carried out over the next couple of months.
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The Ontario Power Authority is introducing a new Feed-In Tariff for commercial aggregators, called the CFIT (commercial feed-in-tariff) Program. The program is intended for micro-fit generation projects where the proponent has multiple projects, is not eligible for the microFIT program or needs to give its lender step in rights. The proposed price is 71.3 cents/kWh)
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It has taken nearly three years to firm up the details, but the Ontario Ministry of the Environment has finally released its revised Registration Guidance Manual for Generators of Liquid Industrial and Hazardous Waste and its new Land Disposal Restrictions (LDR) Handbook. Last updated in 2001, the Registration Manual incorporates significant new information related to
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On July 27th, the Western Climate Initiative (WCI) released a comprehensive blueprint for reducing regional greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. The centerpiece will be a series of integrated, market-based cap-and-trade systems scheduled to begin operation on January 1, 2012. This will eventually address up to 90 percent of
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The Ontario, Canada Ministry of the Environment (MOE) says it will be easier to apply for and obtain environmental approvals using its proposed risk-based approvals model. To be introduced over the next two years, the model will focus approvals resources on activities that pose the greatest risk to the environment and on businesses with poor
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On December 1, 2009, Ontario filed its final Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting Regulation (O. Reg. 452/09) under the Environmental Protection Act. All prescribed facilities in 26 categories will be required to collect emissions data, but only those that emit 25,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) or more per year are subject to the annual reporting requirements. The first emissions report, covering the 2010 calendar year, is due by June 1, 2011. Beginning with the 2011 reporting year, the emissions data must be verified by an accredited third party.
