Legislative, Regulatory & Legal

Ontario will restrict the sale of vape flavours and high nicotine e-cigarettes in a bid to address youth vaping, Health Minister Christine Elliott announced Friday.The government also plans to expand prevention efforts and bolster services to help people quit vaping.“As we learned more about the alarming increase in youth vaping, one thing has become abundantly clear: we need to do more,'' she said.

[caption id="attachment_23009" align="alignright" width="300"] Shutterstock[/caption]Convenience stores not a top source of vaping products for youth, according to the “2019 Drug use Among Ontario Students Report”  by The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).“This data confirms what the CICC has been saying for months, convenience stores are not the source of vaping products for youth, and this report makes the Ontario government’s targeting of convenience stores in their attempt to address the youth vaping problem all the more baffling” says Anne Kothawala, president and CEO of the Convenience Industry Council of Canada.The Ontario government is currently considering both a flavour ban and a nicotine cap for the sale of vapour products sold in convenience stores, but not specialty vape shops or online retailers.

Company halts Indonesia e-cigarette sales, throwing Asia expansion in doubt Investigators from 39 states will look into the marketing and sales of vaping products by Juul Labs, including whether the company targeted youths and made misleading claims about nicotine content in its devices, officials announced Tuesday.

Starting on Canada Day, British Columbia will add provincial sales tax to all carbonated beverages that contain sugar.The new rules span bottled and canned soda, as well as beverages dispensed through soda fountains, soda guns and vending machines.Finance Minister Carole James announced in her budget last week that the 7% provincial sales tax will takes effect on July 1 and is expected to generate $27 million in revenues in the 2020-2021 budget year.Belgium, United Kingdom, Mexico, Chile, France, Portugal, Norway and Hungary charge an excise tax of 20% on such drinks, while eight cities in the United States also levy sugar taxes, including Berkeley, Calif., where a University of California study published last year in the American Journal of Public Health found sugar-drink consumption was down almost 52% in some neighbourhoods and water consumption was up 29%.The B.C.

Automakers are rolling out some big additions to the electric vehicle landscape this year as the market evolves, but it's still not clear how much Canadians will be convinced to buy them.

The Alberta Court of Appeal has ruled that the federal carbon tax is not constitutional.

Alimentation Couche-Tard confirms the announcement by Caltex Australia Limited that it has made a further revised non-binding, indicative offer to the Board of Caltex to acquire 100% of Caltex.

The Saskatchewan government has appointed a special mediator in a contract dispute that has dragged on for more than two months at a Regina oil refinery.