June 4, 2021

On June 3, 2021, Ontario’s Environment Minister Jeff Yurek released the final and approved regulation overhauling the province’s Blue Box Program. The shift to extended producer responsibility transfers all costs and control over the province’s blue box programs from municipalities to product and packaging producers. Today, producers and municipalities split the annual cost of roughly $300 million for blue box recycling, while municipalities operate the patchwork of 243 programs.

May 27, 2021

Today, the Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) posted proposed amendments to the Ontario Emissions Performance Standards (EPS) regulations for comment. The proposed amendments are to support the transition from the federal Output-Based Pricing System (OBPS) to the EPS, which will be in effect January 1, 2022. The posting also includes proposed changes to the administration and enforcement of the program intended to clarify certain compliance and reporting requirements.

May 27, 2021

Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau along with Minister of Natural Resources Seamus O’Regan announced the launch of the Canada Greener Homes Grant program, which provides grants of up to $5,000 for green home retrofits and free EnerGuide energy assessments to homeowners. The program, first outlined in the 2020 Fall Economic Statement, commits to spending $2.6 billion over 7 years.