Legislative, Regulatory & Legal

Nova Scotia's Crown liquor corporation does not have an adequate strategic plan for supporting the province's growing alcohol industry, a new report by the province's auditor general finds.

Mid-sized Canadian businesses that are strapped for cash because of COVID-19 can now apply through their own banks to get loans of up to $60 million from the federal government.

Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson is scaling back the government's planned Clean Fuel Standard in the short term to give the fossil fuel industry a bit more time to recover from the pandemic-induced economic collapse.

Grocery store employees who continued to work during the COVID-19 pandemic are “heroes'' and should be properly compensated, said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Friday.

The Ontario government is responding to industry calls for clarity regarding enforcement of new vaping regulations and has agreed to delay enforcement of the new rules until December 31, 2020.On June 15, the province indicated it was moving ahead with the July 1 deadline for new amendments to the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, which brings with it more restrictive rules for c-store operators when it comes to the sale of vaping products.

Trans Mountain says oil is flowing again through its pipeline after as much 190,000 litres of light crude spilled from a pumping facility in Abbotsford, B.C.A statement from the Crown-owned company says the pipeline was restarted Sunday afternoon.The line was shut down early Saturday when an alarm was triggered at the Sumas pump station.An investigation continues but Trans Mountain linked the cause to a fitting on a 2.5-centimetre pipe, and says the oil was contained, recovered and slated for disposal.A statement posted late Sunday by the Environment Ministry says Trans Mountain's is co-ordinating the response at the site, along with environmental and emergency contractors.The ministry says there has been no reported impact to groundwater, but monitoring continues.Sumas First Nation Chief Dalton Silver said Saturday's spill marked the fourth time in 15 years that the pipeline has spilled oil on their land.He said in a statement that it happened just south of a cultural and burial ground of great significance to his people.“Our main concern is for the cleanup of this spill and preventing further impacts to our territory.

Fuel prices will be tracked in four additional communities in B.C.

Despite ongoing requests for an extension, Ontario is moving ahead with the July 1 deadline for new amendments to the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, which brings with it more restrictive rules for c-store operators when it comes to the sale of vaping products.These changes, part of the Government of Ontario’s efforts to curb youth vaping, were announced in January and were initially to come into play May 1.