Lawyer Monthly Magazine - August 2019 Edition

At a broader environmental policy level, the federal government recently approved significant changes to its environmental assessment and energy regulatory processes under Bill C-69, as well as changes to the federal Fisheries Act (under Bill C-68), which governs fisheries management and the protection of fish habitat. When Bill C-69 comes into force, the current Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 will be replaced by the new Impact Assessment Act. The newly created Impact Assessment Agency of Canada will lead all federal reviews of major projects. In other areas, Canada announced in June 2019 that it plans to ban single-use plastics by as early as 2021 under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, which aligns with similar actions being taken in the European Union. The federal government will also work together with the provinces to introduce Extended Producer Responsibility programs for companies that manufacture plastic products or sell items with plastic packaging. These plastic waste reduction initiatives complement the global Ocean Plastics Charter, which was launched by the Canadian government in June 2018 and lays the groundwork for ensuring that plastics are designed for reuse and recycling. On the flip side, are there environmental laws in Canada which you believe need to be addressed and why? One area in which Canada has made slow progress is around disclosure requirements with The first is a fuel levy on 21 types of fuel and combustible waste that are consumed within a backstop jurisdiction. The second is an output-based pricing system that applies to industrial facilities emitting 50,000 tonnes or more of CO2e. The benchmark is currently set at $20 per tonne of CO2e and will rise by $10 per tonne each year until it reaches $50 per tonne in 2022. The implementation of the backstop has not come without its challenges. Several provinces have come out against the perceived intrusion of the federal government on to provincial jurisdictionon the issue of carbon pricing, and taken legal action to challenge the constitutionality of the GGPPA. In two recent court decisions, both the Courts of Appeal in Saskatchewan and Ontario upheld the constitutionality of the GGPPA and the authority of the federal government to set minimum national standards of price stringency for GHG emissions. Federal and provincial governments are also making investments in clean tech and infrastructure to support climate mitigation and adaptation efforts at the community level. Apart from climate change policy, have there been any other recent changes to environmental laws that are worth noting? Climate change is a major talking point at the moment; can you highlight laws that have been introduced or changed in the past few years which showcase Canada moving towards being more of an environmental leader than a laggard? Since climate change arrived on the international stage at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, climate change policy has certainly experienced its ebbs and flows. But the climate crisis really embodies the zeitgeist now – you can see this in the young people who have taken to the streets to protest political inaction on this issue. Canada has not been immune to the see-saw nature of climate change policy. In 2012, Canada withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol, but a federal election in October 2015 brought into power a government that has taken steps to re-engage in global efforts to tackle climate change. Under the Paris Agreement, Canada committed to reducing its emissions by 30% below 2005 levels by 2030. For context, this translates into a 2030 target of 513 megatonnes (Mt) of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), which will require a 302 Mt CO2e reduction in projected 2030 emissions of 815 Mt CO2e. In order to move Canada closer to its 2030 target, the federal government has introduced a series of economy-wide initiatives under the 2016 Pan- Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change (theFramework), whichprovides the main policy framework for reducing emissions across the country. These initiatives include a carbon pricing benchmark, regulations targeting methane from the oil and gas sector, regulations aimed at phasing out hydrofluorocarbons under the Kigali Amendment, and the proposed introduction of a clean fuel standard, among other things. Perhaps the policy initiative that best showcases Canada’s environmental leadership is its carbon pricing benchmark, which was established under the 2018 Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act (GGPPA). Under the benchmark, provinces and territories have the option to implement either a carbon levy or a cap-and- trade system – whichever makes sense for their economic and geographical circumstances. The benchmark also allows the federal government to apply a “backstop” in any province or territory that requests it or that does not have a carbon pricing system in place in 2019 that meets the benchmark – these are known as the “backstop jurisdictions”. The backstop consists of two components. ENVIRONMENTAL LAW Climate Change in Canada: How Is It Being Addressed? Speaking to Selina Lee-Andersen, we touch on an ever topical issue: Climate change. What is being done in the legal industry to tackle and address this growing concern? Read on to find out. 42 WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM | AUG 2019 Expert Insight By Selina Lee-Andersen, McCarthy Tétrault LLP