Federal coal emissions rules suspended in Saskatchewan

Summary#

This Canada Gazette notice proposes an Order under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 to suspend the federal Reduction of Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Coal-fired Generation of Electricity Regulations in Saskatchewan starting January 1, 2025. The suspension would rely on a provincial-federal equivalency agreement covering 2025–2026, which says Saskatchewan’s rules will produce the same greenhouse‑gas outcome as the federal rules for that period.

What it does#

• Declares that the federal Reduction of Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Coal-fired Generation of Electricity Regulations would not apply in Saskatchewan starting January 1, 2025, while the equivalency agreement stays in force.
• Lets Saskatchewan use its own rules, the Saskatchewan Electricity Regulations, to meet an emissions outcome equal to the federal regime for 2025–2026.
• Allows Saskatchewan to keep operating certain coal units (notably Boundary Dam 4 (BD4) and Boundary Dam 5 (BD5)) that would otherwise need to shut or be retrofitted under federal rules.
• Relies on provincial limits that cap sector emissions at 29.4 Mt of CO2e for the 2025–2026 period (the level modelled under the federal rules).
• Is a proposal, not final. There is a 60‑day public comment period after the notice was published.

Who's affected#

• The provincial electricity sector and the main utility, SaskPower, are the most directly affected parties.
• Consumers could be indirectly affected if alternative outcomes (e.g., earlier plant closures) would have changed electricity supply or costs.
• Environmental and public‑health groups may notice changes in coal use and local air pollution.
• The notice says no incremental impacts to Indigenous Peoples or modern-treaty obligations were identified and that no special Indigenous engagement was undertaken.
• The federal department involved is Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Why it matters#

• The change is meant to avoid overlapping federal and provincial rules and to give Saskatchewan more flexibility in how it reduces power-sector emissions while keeping the same overall greenhouse‑gas outcome for 2025–2026.
• Letting coal units run longer can mean small increases in air pollutants. Past analysis cited in the notice estimated cumulative increases of about 37 kt of SOx and 8 kt of NOx in a previous period, and said associated health impacts would likely be small.
• The federal standard the regulations set for coal units is 420 t CO2/GWh, which the federal rules enforce if the equivalency is not in place.
• This is a temporary, model‑based decision. The equivalency assessment used modelling from 2019 and did not include potential effects from the proposed Clean Electricity Regulations, which were not finalized when the assessment was done.
• Because this is a Part I (consultation) notice, the proposal is not law yet and the public can comment during the 60‑day period.