Federal Government Accepts Made-in-Ontario Emissions Performance Standards

On the eve of the Supreme Court of Canada's hearing on the constitutionality of the federal Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act (GGPPA), the federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change (MECC) determined that Ontario's emissions performance standards (EPS) for industrial emitters meet the minimum stringency requirements under that Act. This allows Ontario to transition large industrial emitters in the province—which are currently subject to the federal output-based pricing system (OBPS)—to its EPS program.

What You Need To Know

Released in July 2019, the EPS program was largely put on hold while Ontario sought to be removed from the list of provinces under the GGPPA that are subject to the OBPS. Although significant details of the transition from the OBPS to the EPS must still be finalized, once that transition is complete, the EPS will, among other things: