Canada: Climate Change

Osler's Legislative Update is a bi-weekly listing of new legislation. This issue covers legislation for the period 07/09 to 07/22.

The July 2026 Pathways Plus MOU establishes a groundbreaking framework linking quantified emissions reduction commitments to regulatory incentives under Alberta's TIER regime. How will company-specific carbon capture targets be allocated among Oil Sands Alliance participants, and what regulatory consequences will companies face if they fail to meet their commitments?

Canada, Alberta and the Oil Sands Alliance have signed a new Memorandum of Understanding that integrates emissions reductions, oil sands production growth and export infrastructure development into a unified policy framework. The agreement positions the Pathways Plus carbon capture and storage project as the centrepiece, targeting infrastructure operations by 2032 and broader completion by 2035, while establishing fiscal incentives and regulatory streamlining measures to support major resource development.

Le 25 mars 2026, le gouvernement du Québec a publié le Règlement modifiant le Règlement relatif à l’évaluation et l’examen des impacts sur l’environnement de certains projets...

In January 2026, Environment and Climate Change Canada (“ECCC”) announced that all reporting requirements for Phases 2 and 3 of Canada’s Federal Plastics Registry will be delayed...

On March 5, 2026, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and Health Canada (HC) published...

The United Nations Environment Programme recently released its Climate Litigation Report 2025, the fourth in its series following earlier reports in 2017, 2020, and 2023.

The federal Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulation ("SUP Regulations") was set to introduce a ban on the manufacture, import and sale of certain single-use plastic manufactured items...

The Federal Court (Court) recently set aside the direction of an Environment and Climate Change Canada inspector (Inspector) issued pursuant to the Fisheries Act (Direction).