Canadian Environment Minister Threatens Criminal Sanctions Against Coal-Burning Provinces
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe recently said the province will continue to use its three coal plants until the end of their lives, beyond the 2030 federal deadline for phasing out coal. Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said Wednesday that would be illegal.
“We’ve regulated the ban on coal through CEPA [Canadian Environmental Protection Act], which is a criminal tool that the federal government has,” he said. “So not complying with this regulation would be a violation of Canada’s Criminal Code.”
If Saskatchewan is to keep the plants going, they must be equipped with carbon-capture systems, he said. Moe’s plan is to close one of the plants in 2033, another in 2042, and another in 2044.
“The federal government’s standards for zero emissions electrical generation by 2035 are unrealistic and unaffordable,” Moe said in a May 16 tweet about the province’s power generation plan, which aims for “net zero by 2050” instead.
“SaskPower rates would more than double and we may not have enough generation to keep the lights on,” Moe said.
Other Provinces
New Brunswick has also struggled with the federal deadline on coal. The province requested an extension to run its Belledune coal plant to the end of its life (about a decade past the federal deadline), but the request was denied.
Coal and coke accounted for 14 percent of New Brunswick’s power generation in 2019. The province’s environment minister, Tom McFarlane, told the legislature’s public accounts committee on Jan. 18 that it’s still unclear what will happen with the Belledune Generating Station.
“There’s still options being considered … [like] can Belledune be converted to something else and generate power from a different fuel source,” McFarlane said.
New Brunswick’s 10-year power plan released in 2021 said all options for replacing coal or increasing carbon capture bear significant cost.
Nova Scotia Power has committed to phasing out coal by 2030, but CEO Peter Gregg noted the challenge in a statement on Jan. 12 2022, “We must phase out coal-fired electricity, transforming in less than 10 years a power system that took 50 years to build.”
New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are looking to the Atlantic Loop plan to help meet federal emissions goals. The loop would establish interprovincial transmission lines to bring zero-emission energy from other provinces.
Quebec runs mostly on hydroelectricity (accounting for 94 percent of its energy), and does not use any coal. Newfoundland is similarly run on hydroelectricity (96 percent), with no coal. Roughly 99 percent of Prince Edward Island’s power comes from wind farms.
Alberta says it will complete its transition from coal-powered electricity by the end of 2023. As of 2020, coal accounted for less than 4 percent of B.C.’s energy mix. Manitoba’s last coal-fired plant closed in 2018. Ontario went from relying on coal for 25 percent of its energy in 2003 to no coal in 2014.
The Yukon runs mostly on hydropower (80 percent) and no coal. The Northwest Territories and Nunavut do not use coal.
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
