On April 30, 2024, the Government of Canada announced widely-anticipated amendments to the Impact Assessment Act IAA or Act as part of a 663 page omnibus budget bill. Canada announced the 2024 budget with the tagline Fairness for Every Generation, claiming that the amendments to the IAA are both constitutionally sound and allow for a more efficient assessment process.
On February 16, 2024, the Canadian government released an update on the Draft Clean Energy Regulations Draft CER and provided some proposed changes in response to the significant feedback affected parties provided on the Draft CER. For background on the Draft CER, see our previous blog post, Federal Government Asserts Jurisdiction over Electricity in New Draft Regulations.
Approximately five weeks have passed since the Alberta government directed the Alberta Utilities Commission AUC or Commission to pause issuing new approvals for renewable electricity projects until at least February 29, 2024, which we discussed in our prior blog post, Alberta s Pause on Renewable Projects: What We Know So Far. The AUC recently provided further details regarding the government-directed inquiry to be held regarding the key issues of concern with renewable power projects in Alberta.
The Canadian government released its long-anticipated draft Clean Electricity Regulations Regulations on August 10, 2023,1 setting out its approach to mandating a net-zero emissions power grid by 2035. In this note, we offer our insight on this federal regulatory initiative that will have implications on the electricity industry across Canada and is certain to be controversial in some regions of Canada, setting the stage for jurisdictional challenges and regulatory uncertainty, all of which must be addressed in order to establish a strong basis on which to invest.
Learn about the Alberta Minister s directive to pause approvals for new renewable electricity projects until Feb 2024. Stay informed on the AUC inquiry and its impact on renewable development.