CANADA Law and Practice Contributed by: Darrell Podowski, Brian Dominique, Joel Matson and Christa Alvernaz, Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP
Provincial and Territorial Regulation Each province and territory has its own supple - mentary climate change regime and is free to choose whether to implement a carbon pollution price or a cap-and-trade system, provided such system meets the minimum federal pricing and emissions reduction targets. Where a provincial system does not meet these minimums, the fed- eral pricing system will apply as a backstop to ensure national compliance with the regulatory regime. Currently, the federal fuel charge system applies in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, 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 sustainabil - ity and requiring its members to meet certain principles of sustainable development; • the Extractive Industries Transparency Initia - tive – a partnership of governments, interna - tional organisations, companies, non-govern - mental organisations, investors, and business and industrial organisations aiming to improve transparency in transactions between gov - ernments and companies in the extractive industries; • the World Gold Council’s Conflict-Free Gold Standard – a common approach by which gold producers can assess and provide
assurance that gold has been extracted in a manner that avoids benefiting armed conflict or human rights abusers; • the Consolidated Mining Standard Initiative – a proposed initiative to combine four mining standards, including the Mining Association of Canada, into one global standard that pro - motes continual improvement of ESG prac - tices across metal and mineral value chains, which entered its public consultation phase in 2024; and • the Towards Sustainable Mining standard, discussed in 2.7 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Guidelines and Regula- tions . 3.4 Energy-Transition Minerals The federal government released “The Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy” on 9 December 2022, containing a list of 31 critical minerals that are deemed to be: • essential to Canada’s economic security and its supply if threatened; • required for Canada’s transition to a low-car - bon economy; or • a sustainable source of highly strategic criti - cal minerals for Canada’s partners and allies. The Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy address - es the following five core objectives: • supporting economic growth, competitive - ness and job creation; • promoting climate action and environmental protection; • advancing reconciliation with Indigenous peoples; • fostering diverse and inclusive workforces and communities; and • enhancing global security and partnerships with allies.
146 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook