Resilient LLP (formerly DeMarco Allan LLP)
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DT Vollmer

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Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry Releases Draft Forest Biomass Action Plan

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Today the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (“MNRF”) released a draft Forest Biomass Action Plan (the “Draft Plan”), a commitment made in Ontario’s forest sector strategy, released on August 20, 2020. The Draft Plan is now open for comment until June 21, 2021. This bulletin briefly summarizes the Draft Plan. The Draft Plan seeks to examine innovative uses of forest biomass, such as mill by-products and underutilized forest biofibre, for applications in heat and power generation and sustainable, low-carbon consumer products. The Draft Plan strives to secure jobs, support economic development, and encourage sustainability in the forest sector. The Draft Plan seeks to achieve the following five objectives: Identify pathways to markets for forest biomass by: further refining Ontario’s inventory of forest biomass; publishing reports summarizing the types of forest bioproducts and technologies and describing current and future demand for Ontario bioproducts; completing a jurisdictional scan; developing a life cycle inventory for traditional and non-traditional wood products, study biomass carbon dynamics, and refine life-cycle impact assessment models; supporting development of regional clusters; and conducting collaborative research studies on soil quality, stand development, productivity, and biodiversity. Support demand for forest bioenergy and bioproducts by: ensuring that existing facilities receive ongoing access to the provincial market at fair compensation; publishing a report quantifying the financial contribution of forest biomass; providing resources for the development of community-led projects; advancing the use of forest biomass through the Ontario Bioheat Initiative; creating a provincial bioheat strategy; engaging with potential industry users to integrate forest biomass into supply chains; and pursuing government procurements that use biomass to reduce the carbon footprint of buildings, energy, and other products. Improve the business and regulatory environments for the use of forest biomass by: reviewing and updating Ontario’s Forest Biofibre Directive; streamlining permitting and reduce regulatory burdens; making…

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Federal Government Announces New Climate Change Plan, Carbon Price to Increase to $170 by 2030

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Today, Prime Minister Trudeau and Ministers McKenna, Wilkinson, and Guilbeault announced a new and updated climate change plan: A Healthy Environment and a Health Economy (the Plan). The Plan, released by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), seeks to strengthen Canada’s emissions reduction commitments under the Paris Agreement while simultaneously investing in cleaner and more sustainable economic growth. Starting in 2023, the Plan will increase the federal carbon price by $15 per year to $170 by 2030. The Plan includes 64 new measures and $15.2 billion in new investments on top of the previously committed $60 billion in the 2016 Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change and $6 billion to be invested in clean infrastructure by the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB). The Plan includes investments in the following categories: Making the Places Canadians Live and Gather More Affordable by Cutting Energy Waste. The federal government will invest $1.5 billion for green and inclusive community buildings, with 10% allocated to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities, $2.6 billion to help homeowners make their homes more energy efficient through grants of up to $5,000, and $2 billion in financing for commercial and large-scale building retrofits as part ofthe CIB’s $10 billion Growth Plan. Making Clean, Affordable Transportation and Power Available in Every Canadian Community. The federal government will invest an additional $287 million over two years to continue the Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles (iZEV) program until March 2022, additional $150 million over three years in charging and refuelling stations across Canada, an additional $964 million over four years to advance smart renewable energy and grid modernization projects, an additional $300 million over five years to advance the government’s commitment to ensure rural, remote and Indigenous communities that currently rely on diesel have the opportunity to be powered by clean, reliable…

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Judge Rejects Ontario’s Attempt to Strike Out Youth Climate Change Case

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On November 12, 2020, Justice Carole Brown of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed a motion by the Attorney General of Ontario to strike out the Notice of Application in Mathur et. al. v. Her Majesty in Right of Ontario (the Application). The applicants, seven Ontario youths (the Applicants), are seeking to hold the Government of Ontario accountable for the Cap and Trade Cancellation Act, 2018 on the primary basis that it violates sections 7 and 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the Charter).   Ontario brought a motion to strike out the case arguing that (i) the Application is not justiciable; (ii) the Application is based on unprovable speculations about the future climate consequences of the 2030 target; (iii) there is no positive constitutional obligation on Ontario to prevent harms associated with climate change; and (iv) the Applicants have no standing to seek remedies for “future generations”.   Justice Brown rejected all arguments made by Ontario, finding that the 2030 target and related plan are reviewable by the courts for purposes of a Charter analysis.   Justice Brown further determined that many of the claims made by the Applicants, with respect to climate change, are capable of proof and that the Applicants should be provided the opportunity to adduce evidence to demonstrate the validity of their claims.   A brief overview of Justice Brown’s main findings follows: On the question of justiciability, Justice Brown differentiated this case from the recent Federal Court of Canada decision in La Rose v. Canada, which found that another youth-led challenge to federal inaction on climate change was not justiciable. In differentiating the two claims, Justice Brown noted that the Application challenged specific government action and legislation unlike the claim in La Rose v. Canada. Moreover, Justice Brown determined that the…

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Government of Ontario Releases Emissions Performance Standard Regulations

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The Government of Ontario has released O. Reg. 241/19 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Performance Standards (the Regulation), which came into effect on July 4, 2019 following an unexpected process surrounding the release of the Regulation. The Province published a regulatory proposal for industrial emission performance standards (EPS) in February 2019. Compliance. The first compliance period under the Regulation would begin on January 1 in the year in which Ontario is removed from the list of provinces to which the federal Output-Based Pricing System applies. The Regulation provides that: Compliance instruments include excess emissions units (EEUs) and emissions performance units (EPUs), each of which are subject to eligibility requirements if they are used to satisfy a facility’s compliance obligation. EEUs must be distributed to facilities beginning in the first year after the first compliance period. The cost of each EEU is set at $20 in 2020, $30 in 2021, $40 in 2022, and $50 in 2023. EPUs must be distributed in the year after a compliance period to facilities for which the verified total annual emissions limit for the compliance period is more than the verified verification amount for the compliance period (unless the Historical Facility Emissions Limit Standard is used). EPUs expire after five years. Eligible compliance instruments must generally be removed from a facility’s account at the end of a compliance period, with EEUs to be removed before any EPUs are removed. EPUs may be transferred between facilities’ accounts by agreement if notice is provided. Registration. The Regulation further provides for mandatory registration of facilities that report or have reported emissions of at least 50,000 tonnes of CO2e per year under current or prior regulations. Voluntary registration may be available for facilities that report or have reported emissions of at least 10,000 and less than 50,000 tonnes of CO2e per…

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