Legislative, Regulatory & Legal

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

The Ontario government is putting a temporary ban on commercial evictions to help small business owners who are struggling to pay their rent amid the COVID-19 fallout.Premier Doug Ford announced the moratorium on Monday which applies to small businesses who qualify for the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance program (CECRA), where their revenues have dropped at least 70% due to the pandemic.Ford outlined the details at a news conference, saying the ban will take effect for evictions as of June 3 and last until Aug.