New regulations wouldn’t apply to remote and northern communities immediately as they work on eliminating their ‘dependencies’ on fossil fuels, said Steven Guilbeault
Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault speaks during a news conference in Longueuil, Que. on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023, where he outlined plans to protect and restore nature across Canada.Photo by Graham Hughes /The Canadian Press
OTTAWA — Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault’s newly announced plan to largely phase out the use of fossil fuels to generate power in Canada over the next 12 years is being criticized as costly and unrealistic, despite his claims that higher electricity costs would be offset by savings on oil and gas.
On Thursday, Guilbeault introduced details of the Liberal government’s draft regulations for how it plans to achieve its goal of a “net zero” electricity grid by 2035, and will begin a consultation on those plans later this month for 75 days, with a final version expected to be published in January 2025.
Canada already has one of the cleanest electricity grids in the world, with more than 84 per cent of electricity generated from sources like hydro, nuclear and wind. Gas-powered plants are also often used as back up for wind and solar when they aren’t producing, and several provinces that lack nuclear and ample hydro rely heavily on fossil fuels, including gas and coal, for baseload electricity generation.
The draft regulations unveiled by the Liberal government on Thursday are meant to switch most of the remainder of Canada’s power grid to non-carbon-emitting sources, while also meeting increasing demand from more electricity usage.
“We know the scale of the challenge ahead of us and I know some will cast out on the challenge arguing that we would be better off sticking to the status quo,” said Guilbeault on Thursday during a press conference at the University of Toronto.
Environment and Climate Change Canada officials said in a technical briefing that the national average household energy bill would increase by between $35 and $61 per year when the regulations are adopted. But it projects that the increase would be offset by savings when consumers reduce their dependency on fossil fuels, for instance the savings from the cheaper cost of recharging an electric vehicle (EV) compared to filling up with gasoline.
“Shifting to clean electricity saves households on their energy bills away from the shocks of yo-yoing gas and oil prices,” said Guilbeault.
The new regulations will cap carbon emissions for individual power plants that would either require them to find ways to capture carbon emissions or they will have to phase out operation.
Carbon capture, while currently in use in several pilot programs, is still widely considered by energy industry analysts to be unproven as an economic technology at a larger scale.
Remote and northern communities would be exempted from these rules by the time they are enforced in 2035, as federal departments are helping them “reduce and potentially eventually eliminate their dependencies on fossil fuels,” said Guilbeault.
“We understand, we’re not there yet, which is why we’ve decided to ensure that the regulations wouldn’t apply to them now,” he said.
Heather Exner-Pirot, director of energy, natural resources and environment at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and special adviser to the Business Council of Canada, said the federal Liberals are choosing to go “much faster and further than what anyone else thinks is logistically or economically possible.”
“They’re arguing that switching to clean electricity will save Canadians money. That’s not being realistic,” she argued. “Natural gas in Canada is cheap and reliable. Heat pumps and EVs do not work well in large parts of the county in winter, and that’s a fact.”
Guilbeault said Thursday that the federal government has made available over $40 billion over 10 years to enable provinces and utilities to invest in clean electricity, including measures like tax credits, low-cost financing and other funds to reduce the cost to consumers.
“We estimate that if provinces, territories and Indigenous partners take full advantage of these measures, the federal government will offset more than half of provinces and territories’ cost of cleaning the grid,” he said.
But the federal Environment Minister’s arguments did not convince provinces such as Saskatchewan and Alberta, both confirming they would not adopt the proposed clean electricity regulations and would instead aim to achieve net-zero by 2050.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said Thursday the draft regulations are “unaffordable, unrealistic and unconstitutional,” and that he would oppose the new rules.
“They will drive electricity rates through the roof and leave Saskatchewan with an unreliable power supply. Our government will not let the federal government do that to Saskatchewan people,” Moe said in a post on social media.
Moe said electricity generation is a “constitutionally-protected provincial responsibility.”
“Trudeau’s net-zero targets are simply not achievable in Saskatchewan, and we will not ask our residents to pay the extraordinary price for the federal government’s divisive policies, nor will we risk the integrity of our provincial power grid to defy the laws of thermodynamics,” he said.
Alberta Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz blasted the federal government for putting “ideology before common sense, affordability and reliability”, and said “they will not be implemented in our province, period”.
“Once again, these regulations seem to completely disregard how the electricity systems actually work in provinces like Alberta,” she said.
The regulations are expected to result in a reduction of “nearly 342 megatonnes of cumulative greenhouse gas emissions” from 2024 to 2050, the government said.
The draft regulations don’t prescribe specific technologies that have to be used to reduce emissions, leaving provinces, territories, and municipalities to find ways to comply, according to a background document.
Provinces including Saskatchewan and Alberta, who rely heavily on fossil fuels as a baseload power supply, had previously expressed concerns about the government’s plans for the regulations. While the new regulations don’t apply to the provinces directly, many electrical utilities in Canada are provincially or municipally owned.
“By regulating these changes in the decision-making now, you can ensure polluting power plants can be phased down over 20 years, while allowing them to run where they have the greatest value for keeping electricity affordable and reliable,” Guilbeault said.
It’s unclear what consequences those provinces or municipalities could face for not complying.
A document provided by the government says only that “contravention of applicable rules (would) be punishable by appropriate penalties, such as increased fines and jail time.”
The Conservative party’s environment and climate change critic Gérard Deltell said in a press release that instead of the Liberal government giving Canadians relief from the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, “they have decided to make life even more expensive for Canadians struggling to make ends meet.”
But the Canadian Climate Institute argued the new regulations will save Canadians money over the long run.
“Our research finds most Canadians will save on energy bills as they switch from fossil fuels to clean electricity, with the average household spending 12 per cent less on energy by 2050 compared to today,” senior research director Jason Dion said in a press release.
All G7 countries have promised to reach net-zero in their electrical systems by 2035, Dion pointed out.
“Canada’s future climate progress depends on clean electricity, and switching to 100 per cent non-emitting power will be a major part of our global contribution to lowering emissions,” Dion said.
Lisa Baiton, the CEO of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, issued a statement Thursday warning that the regulations would limit the ability to use natural gas as a back up when wind and solar are unavailable.
“Canada produces some of the world’s lowest-emitting natural gas and is a critical part of our country’s energy security, including acting as a back-up for the intermittency challenges of renewable power,” she said. “We are also concerned that the proposal will have investment impacts, causing further uncertainty in the Canadian energy sector.”
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. says it has signed a deal that will result in the creation of its first eyewear collection.
The deal announced on Thursday by the Toronto-based luxury apparel company comes in the form of an exclusive, long-term global licensing agreement with Marchon Eyewear Inc.
The terms and value of the agreement were not disclosed, but Marchon produces eyewear for brands including Lacoste, Nike, Calvin Klein, Ferragamo, Longchamp and Zeiss.
Marchon plans to roll out both sunglasses and optical wear under the Canada Goose name next spring, starting in North America.
Canada Goose says the eyewear will be sold through optical retailers, department stores, Canada Goose shops and its website.
Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss told The Canadian Press in August that he envisioned his company eventually expanding into eyewear and luggage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Almost seven years since news broke of an alleged conspiracy to fix the price of packaged bread across Canada, the saga isn’t over: the Competition Bureau continues to investigate the companies that may have been involved, and two class-action lawsuits continue to work their way through the courts.
Here’s a timeline of key events in the bread price-fixing case.
Oct. 31, 2017: The Competition Bureau says it’s investigating allegations of bread price-fixing and that it was granted search warrants in the case. Several grocers confirm they are co-operating in the probe.
Dec. 19, 2017: Loblaw and George Weston say they participated in an “industry-wide price-fixing arrangement” to raise the price of packaged bread. The companies say they have been co-operating in the Competition Bureau’s investigation since March 2015, when they self-reported to the bureau upon discovering anti-competitive behaviour, and are receiving immunity from prosecution. They announce they are offering $25 gift cards to customers amid the ongoing investigation into alleged bread price-fixing.
Jan. 31, 2018: In court documents, the Competition Bureau says at least $1.50 was added to the price of a loaf of bread between about 2001 and 2016.
Dec. 20, 2019: A class-action lawsuit in a Quebec court against multiple grocers and food companies is certified against a number of companies allegedly involved in bread price-fixing, including Loblaw, George Weston, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart Canada, Canada Bread and Giant Tiger (which have all denied involvement, except for Loblaw and George Weston, which later settled with the plaintiffs).
Dec. 31, 2021: A class-action lawsuit in an Ontario court covering all Canadian residents except those in Quebec who bought packaged bread from a company named in the suit is certified against roughly the same group of companies.
June 21, 2023: Bakery giant Canada Bread Co. is fined $50 million after pleading guilty to four counts of price-fixing under the Competition Act as part of the Competition Bureau’s ongoing investigation.
Oct. 25 2023: Canada Bread files a statement of defence in the Ontario class action denying participating in the alleged conspiracy and saying any anti-competitive behaviour it participated in was at the direction and to the benefit of its then-majority owner Maple Leaf Foods, which is not a defendant in the case (neither is its current owner Grupo Bimbo). Maple Leaf calls Canada Bread’s accusations “baseless.”
Dec. 20, 2023: Metro files new documents in the Ontario class action accusing Loblaw and its parent company George Weston of conspiring to implicate it in the alleged scheme, denying involvement. Sobeys has made a similar claim. The two companies deny the allegations.
July 25, 2024: Loblaw and George Weston say they agreed to pay a combined $500 million to settle both the Ontario and Quebec class-action lawsuits. Loblaw’s share of the settlement includes a $96-million credit for the gift cards it gave out years earlier.
Sept. 12, 2024: Canada Bread files new documents in Ontario court as part of the class action, claiming Maple Leaf used it as a “shield” to avoid liability in the alleged scheme. Maple Leaf was a majority shareholder of Canada Bread until 2014, and the company claims it’s liable for any price-fixing activity. Maple Leaf refutes the claims.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:L, TSX:MFI, TSX:MRU, TSX:EMP.A, TSX:WN)
TORONTO – TD Bank Group, which is mired in a money laundering scandal in the U.S., says chief executive Bharat Masrani will retire next year.
Masrani, who will retire officially on April 10, 2025, says the bank’s, “anti-money laundering challenges,” took place on his watch and he takes full responsibility.
The bank named Raymond Chun, TD’s group head, Canadian personal banking, as his successor.
As part of a transition plan, Chun will become chief operating officer on Nov. 1 before taking over the top job when Masrani steps down at the bank’s annual meeting next year.
TD also announced that Riaz Ahmed, group head, wholesale banking and president and CEO of TD Securities, will retire at the end of January 2025.
TD has taken billions in charges related to ongoing U.S. investigations into the failure of its anti-money laundering program.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
