PROVINCIAL & TERRITORIAL POLICY TRENDS

Western Region

B.C. modernizes oil, gas, energy regulator board

British Columbia is improving transparency in oversight and governance of the energy resource sector through a more modern, inclusive, and larger board for its energy regulator. “Emerging energy sectors, such as hydrogen, geothermal and carbon capture, will generate economic opportunities and help B.C. reduce emissions and transition to clean energy,” says Josie Osborne, Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation. “Increasing the size and diversity of the board of directors improves inclusion and better reflects the expanded energy resource mandate.”

Alberta premier willing to collaborate on climate issues if Ottawa meets ‘nonnegotiable’ conditions

Alberta’s premier has penned a letter saying she will collaborate with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on certain climate and energy-related initiatives — if Ottawa agrees to certain terms. In the letter released Feb. 16, Premier Danielle Smith said the province is prepared to work with the federal government on a coordinated approach for a carbon capture, utilization, and storage incentive program for the purpose of net emissions reductions, with one condition. The premier wants Ottawa to refrain from introducing new federal legislation or policies that would impact Alberta’s oil and gas resource development, management, or workforce participation without the “full involvement, consultation and consent of Alberta.”

Alberta government establishes new panel to develop vision for province’s energy sector

The Alberta government has struck a new panel that aims to develop a long-term vision for the future of the province’s energy sector. The five-member panel of oilpatch veterans will be chaired by David Yager, an energy policy analyst and long-time writer who’s been in the oil and gas industry for more than 30 years. Yager was also a former political candidate for the Wildrose Party, one of the groups that came together to form the United Conservative Party that Smith now leads. The panel is to meet with government ministries and industry stakeholders, although Smith makes no mention of public consultation or outside experts.

Prairie Region

Crop-based biofuel ban talk unsettles canola industry

Germany may ban crop-based biofuels by 2030, which would be a blow to the Canadian canola sector, says an analyst. The European Union is a top customer for Canadian canola. It crushes the crop and uses the oil to make biodiesel. The EU imported 2.52 million tonnes of Canadian canola in 2020, ranking as Canada’s second-biggest market that year, only slightly behind China’s 2.58 million tonnes. Reuters reports that German environment minister Steffi Lemke will soon send proposals to the cabinet to ban crop-based biofuels by 2030 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Feeding the petroleum industry with plantbased fuel additives: USask research

While people around the world slowly increase their awareness of using renewable plant-based materials for energy, University of Saskatchewan (USask) graduate student Priyanka Tirumareddy is tackling the fight head-on with a bio-based fuel additive that she hopes will help power automobiles in the future. Tirumareddy is working to identify sustainable options for plant-based materials to create renewable fuels for the transportation sector that can be used within the prevailing fossil-fuel infrastructure.

ONTARIO/QUEBEC REGION

John Ivison: Quebec’s ban on fossil fuels could be fracturing

François Legault is steadfast, in public at least: Quebec will not export natural gas to Europe, despite the shifting geopolitical landscape that means Germany, in particular, is looking to replace energy that Russia used to supply. But industry sources say that privately the Quebec premier may be rethinking opposition that was formalized in his government’s ban on oil and gas development in the province.

Ontario launches Hydrogen Innovation Fund

The Ontario government is establishing a Hydrogen Innovation Fund that will invest $15 million over the next three years to kickstart and develop opportunities for hydrogen to be integrated into Ontario’s clean electricity system, including hydrogen electricity storage. This launch marks another milestone in the implementation of the province’s Low-Carbon Hydrogen Strategy, positioning Ontario as a clean manufacturing hub. Hydrogen Innovation Fund projects will support electricity supply, capacity, storage, and demand management, and support growth in Ontario’s hydrogen economy.

Atlantic Canada

Nova Scotia approves green hydrogen project for Point Tupper

Nova Scotia’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change Tim Halman approved a proposed green hydrogen project in Point Tupper, N.S., on Feb. 7. EverWind Fuels plans to use fresh water from a nearby lake to produce hydrogen in a process that’s powered by renewable electricity from local windenergy suppliers. EverWind has said its hydrogenmaking processes will create a much smaller carbon footprint than methods that use natural gas. The company is hoping to begin operations by 2025.

Wildly swinging oil prices will continue, and provinces like N.L. can gain

As energy demand changes and countries move away from oil and gas, there is more volatility ahead for fossil fuel prices, says Warren Mabee, director of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Policy at Queen’s University. One way governments can better insulate themselves is to build in mechanisms to recoup their subsidies or incentives when markets rebound, he says. Sara Hastings-Simon, an assistant professor at the University of Calgary studying energy transitions, agrees. “Simply giving subsidies and not structuring them in a way that’s tied to the price of oil leaves the public very exposed,” she says.

N.B. now in line for federal carbon tax rebates as Higgs scraps provincial price

New Brunswickers are joining Canada's carbontax rebate club. Residents of the province will begin receiving federal rebate cheques later this year after the federal government’s carbon pricing system kicks in on

July 1. Premier Blaine Higgs announced Feb. 16 he will scrap his own provincially designed price on carbon effective on Canada Day, triggering the implementation of Ottawa’s so-called backstop plan. That means quarterly federal rebate cheques adding up to more than $900 per year for a family of four, Higgs said.

Northern Canada

GNWT considering a zone-based approach to fuel rebates

The Government of the Northwest Territories is considering a zone-based approach to fuel price rebates, where communities with higher fuel use, particularly those in the high arctic, would get a larger rebate than those that use less fuel. Minister of Finance Caroline Wawzonek confirmed such a system was in the works during a sitting of the Legislative Assembly on Feb. 8. The assembly is debating what to do about coming increases to the federal carbon tax, with a bill to increase fuel prices in the territory to be voted on during this assembly.

New Indigenous Council to play key role in advancing clean energy projects in Indigenous, rural, and remote communities

On Feb. 13 Minister of Natural Resources

Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Northern Affairs, PrairiesCan and CanNor Dan Vandal, and Minister of Indigenous Services Patty Hajdu announced the selection of seven Indigenous leaders who will make up the Indigenous Council that will help guide the transition to clean energy in Indigenous, rural, and remote communities. The Indigenous Council will provide guidance and advice to the Government of Canada on policy and program design, and direct engagement with Indigenous partners on accessing resources and funding that reduce diesel reliance.