Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
The federal government is delaying new emissions standards on gasoline and diesel another year but is demanding the oil and gas sector make bigger cuts to fuel emissions by 2030 given how much more money the companies are now making.
Cabinet approved the final regulations for the long-awaited Clean Fuel Standard last week and The Canadian Press obtained them today ahead of their intended publication on July 6.
A confluence of communications errors led to the regulations being distributed early upon request and the government was scrambling Monday to inform provinces as the news was about to leak.
“The CFS will be a key tool that complements pollution pricing and the pending oil and gas sector emission cap, to cut emissions and drive the use of clean fuels and technology in Canada,” a statement from Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault's office said Monday.
“Since the previous draft of the CFS, we've been working to make this as focused as possible on our end goal - driving down emissions and driving up innovation.”
The Clean Fuel Standard was first promised in 2016 as part of the Liberals' first climate plan. At that time it was expected it would cut 30 million tonnes of greenhouse gases a year by 2030, but a new analysis based on the final regulations is expected shortly.
The initial plan was to have draft regulations ready by the spring of 2020, but the draft wasn't published until December 2021, and was followed by a mandatory six-month comment period.
The draft regulations said the new standard would kick into gear in December 2022. But the final regulations say the first compliance check will now be in December 2023.
The draft regulations also included kerosene, jet fuel or fuel oil on the list of fuels that need to comply but those are not included in the final regulations.
But they do increase the expected cuts to emissions from both gasoline and diesel.
The draft regulations expected gasoline to drop carbon intensity 2.5 per cent in December 2022 from a baseline number set using a 2016 average intensity. The final plan adjusts that baseline slightly, and requires a drop of 3.6 per cent for gasoline, and 3.8 per cent for diesel in December 2023.
The emissions intensity cap declines each year until 2030. Initially the plan was that both gasoline and diesel emissions intensities would decline 12.5 per cent by 2030. The final regulations, however, now say gasoline has to fall 14.7 per cent by 2030, and diesel by 15 per cent.
In June 2020 the federal government said it would scale back the standard in the early years as oil and gas companies reeled from a pandemic revenue hit.
Guilbeault's office now says companies are making record profits and “there's no doubt there is the capacity to invest in clean options.”
“In fact, the future sustainability of the industry depends on investment in innovation.”
Most Canadian oil and gas companies reported massive profits in the first quarter as global oil prices surged, largely due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In May, Guilbeault told The Canadian Press he expected those companies to use those profits to invest in clean tech, after one oilpatch CEO complained federal tax credits for carbon capture and storage technology were not generous enough.
The emissions intensity is calculated on what are known as life cycle emissions - every ounce of carbon dioxide, methane or other greenhouse gases produced when oil and gas is extracted, processed, refined, upgraded, transported and finally, burned.
There are multiple options to lower emissions intensity, such as by replacing fossil fuels with clean electricity during the extraction or refining phases, distributing biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel, or investing in electric or hydrogen fuel-powered vehicles.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 27, 2022.
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a Grade 4 student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.