CANADA Law and Practice Contributed by: Darrell Podowski, Jennifer Poirier, Joel Matson and Simi Fagbongbe, Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP
Provincial and Territorial Regulation Each province and territory has its own supplementary climate change regime and is free to choose wheth - er to implement a carbon pollution price or a cap- and-trade system, provided such system meets the minimum federal pricing and emissions reduction tar - gets. Where a provincial system does not meet these minimums, the federal pricing system will apply as a backstop to ensure national compliance with the regulatory regime. While fuel charge rates are currently set at zero, the federal fuel charge system applies in Alberta, Sas - katchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Lab - rador, Nunavut and Yukon. The federal output-based pricing system applies in Yukon, Manitoba, Nunavut and Prince Edward Island. 3.3 Sustainable Development Initiatives Related to Mining Many sustainable development and corporate social responsibility initiatives affect the mining industry in Canada, including: • the International Council on Mining and Metals – a collection of mining and metals organisations working to improve sustainability and requiring its members to meet certain principles of sustainable development; • the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative – a partnership of governments, international organisa - tions, companies, non-governmental organisations, investors, and business and industrial organisa - tions aiming to improve transparency in transac - tions between governments and companies in the extractive industries; • the World Gold Council’s Conflict-Free Gold Stand - ard – a common approach by which gold produc - ers can assess and provide assurance that gold has been extracted in a manner that avoids ben - efitting armed conflict or human rights abusers; • the Consolidated Mining Standard Initiative – a proposed initiative to combine four mining stand - ards, including the Mining Association of Canada, into one global standard that promotes continual improvement of ESG practices across metal and
legislation that affects the mining industry, in addition to international treaties. Climate change standards are generally becoming more stringent and are expected to increase compliance costs. Climate change itself may also impose risks on min - ing industry operations due to increases in extreme weather events, rising sea levels, the melting of Arc - tic permafrost and other natural phenomena. Major Canadian mining companies consider these poten - tially significant effects on their operations. 3.2 Climate Change Legislation and Proposals Related to Mining Canada has a two-tiered approach to climate change regulation: federal and provincial. As detailed below, federal regulations prevail in cases where provincial regimes do not meet the minimum standards. Federal Regulation The Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act implements the federal carbon pollution pricing (fee) scheme aimed at reducing GHG emissions, and in 2021 the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the constitutionality of this legislation. The federal scheme was comprised of two key parts: • a fuel charge administered by the Canada Revenue Agency; and • an output-based pricing system, whereby facili - ties pay a carbon price for emissions exceeding a maximum threshold. However, the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act was amended in 2025 with a stated intention to refo - cus pollution pricing towards industry and away from a consumer carbon price. To do so, the fuel charge has been set to zero as of March 2025. Federal climate change legislation affecting the min - ing industry also includes the Regulations Respect - ing Reduction in the Release of Methane and Certain Volatile Organic Compounds, which came into force in January 2023, and the overlapping environmental protection regimes discussed in 2. Impact of Envi- ronmental Protection and Community Relations on Mining Projects .
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