Canada Gazette, Part I, Volume 156, Number 19: Order Declaring that the Provisions of the Reduction of Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Coal-fired Generation of Electricity Regulations Do Not Apply in Nova Scotia
May 7, 2022
Statutory authority
Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999
Sponsoring department
Department of the Environment
REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT
(This statement is not part of the Order.)
Issues
An Order was made in 2014 (the 2014 Orderfootnote 1) to stand down the Reduction of Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Coal-fired Generation of Electricity Regulations (the Federal Regulations) in Nova Scotia starting from July 1, 2015. As the 2014 Order does not include any provision mentioning when it ceases to be in force, the Minister of the Environment is recommending that the Governor in Council repeal the 2014 Order and replace it with a new order that includes a provision specifying when it ceases to be in force. The proposed new Order would cease to be in force at the same time the 2020 Nova Scotia equivalency agreementfootnote 2 (the 2020 Equivalency Agreement) terminates or is terminated under subsection 10(8) of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA).
Objective
The objective is to replace the 2014 Order with a new order that includes a provision stating when it ceases to be in force and ensure that the new Order only remains in force as long as the 2020 Equivalency Agreement. The proposed new Order would generate regulatory certainty and ensure that the Federal Regulations would apply after the expiry of the 2020 Equivalency Agreement. Under this approach, the proposed new Order would be consistent with other orders adopted under section 10 of CEPA.
Description and rationale
The proposed new Order is expected to come into force on January 1, 2023, and would cease to be in force no later than December 31, 2024, at the same time as the 2020 Equivalency Agreement. Nova Scotia is the only province with an equivalency agreement under section 10 of CEPA that does not tie the cessation of the Order to the expiry of the equivalency agreement.
The need to replace the 2014 Order to include a provision stating when the Order ceases to be in force had been identified by the Department of Environment (the Department) and was discussed with representatives of the Government of Nova Scotia during the negotiations for the 2020 Equivalency Agreement held between 2016 and 2019. Due to timing (the renewed Equivalency Agreement was required to come into force before January 1, 2020), the Department determined that the repeal and replacement of the 2014 Order could be completed at a later date, after the 2020 Equivalency Agreement had been signed in November 2019.
A formal consultation period would be held upon publication of the proposed new Order in the Canada Gazette, Part I, as required under subsection 332(1) of CEPA.
One-for-one rule and small business lens
The one-for-one rule does not apply to the proposed new Order, as adding an expiry date to the Order does not change administrative costs or impose incremental burden on businesses. The proposed new Order would have no associated impacts on small businesses, as it would not impose any administrative or compliance costs on businesses.
Contacts
Matthew Watkinson
Director
Regulatory Analysis and Valuation Division
Environment and Climate Change Canada
Fontaine Building
200 Sacré-Cœur Boulevard, 10th Floor
Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 0H3
Email: eccc.darv-ravd.eccc@ec.gc.ca
Karl Abraham
Acting Director
Electricity and Combustion Division
Environment and Climate Change Canada
Place Vincent Massey
351 Saint-Joseph Boulevard
Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 0H3
Email: ECD-DEC@ec.gc.ca
PROPOSED REGULATORY TEXT
Notice is given, pursuant to subsection 332(1)footnote a of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999footnote b, that the Governor in Council, pursuant to subsection 10(3) of that Act, proposes to make the annexed Order Declaring that the Provisions of the Reduction of Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Coal-fired Generation of Electricity Regulations Do Not Apply in Nova Scotia.
Any person may, within 60 days after the date of publication of this notice, file with the Minister of the Environment comments with respect to the proposed Order or a notice of objection requesting that a board of review be established under section 333 of that Act and stating the reasons for the objection. All comments and notices must cite the Canada Gazette, Part I, and the date of publication of this notice, and be addressed to Matthew Cloutier, Acting Director, Electricity and Combustion Division, Energy and Transportation Directorate, Department of the Environment, 351 Saint-Joseph Boulevard, Gatineau, Quebec K1A 0H3 (email: ecd-dec@ec.gc.ca).
A person who provides information to the Minister of the Environment may submit with the information a request for confidentiality under section 313 of that Act.
Ottawa, April 29, 2022
Wendy Nixon
Assistant Clerk of the Privy Council
Order Declaring that the Provisions of the Reduction of Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Coal-fired Generation of Electricity Regulations Do Not Apply in Nova Scotia
Declaration
Non-application
1 The provisions of the Reduction of Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Coal-fired Generation of Electricity Regulations do not apply in Nova Scotia.
Cessation of Effect
Day agreement terminates
2 This Order ceases to have effect on the day on which the agreement between the Minister of the Environment and the Government of Nova Scotia entitled “An agreement on the equivalency of federal and Nova Scotia regulations for the control of greenhouse gas emissions from electricity producers in Nova Scotia, 2020” terminates or is terminated under subsection 10(8) of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.
Repeal
3 The Order Declaring that the Reduction of Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Coal-fired Generation of Electricity Regulations Do Not Apply in Nova Scotia footnote 3 is repealed.
Coming into Force
January 1, 2023
4 This Order comes into force on January 1, 2023, but if it is registered after that day, it comes into force on the day on which it is registered.