Spring Economic Update Expands Canada's Carbon Capture Tax
Credit Regime to Include Enhanced Oil Recovery
The federal government released the Spring Economic Update (SEU) on April 28, 2026, with the stated purpose of advancing its goal of building a stronger, more independent and resilient Canadian economy. Of particular interest to energy and clean-technology businesses, the SEU introduces several measures aimed at accelerating investment in low-carbon infrastructure.

Key developments from the SEU include:

• A proposed expansion of the Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage Investment Tax Credit (the CCUS Tax Credit) to include CO2 stored through enhanced oil recovery (EOR);
• Implementation details of the accelerated capital cost allowance rates (Accelerated CCA) for low-carbon liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities previously announced in Budget 2025; and
• A commitment to prioritize advance income tax rulings for clean economy investment tax credits.

Read the full article by Brendan Sigalet, Greg M. Johnson, Luke Morrison and Gracie Boser with Bennett Jones LLP.

After Sunrise: Federal Approval and CER Conditions
on the Westcoast Energy Expansion
Last week, the Canadian federal government approved the Sunrise expansion project, a roughly $4 billion expansion of the Westcoast Energy natural gas pipeline system in British Columbia (Project). The Project consists primarily of new pipeline loops, compressor station upgrades, and associated electrical facilities. The aim was to increase transportation capacity on the existing system and address anticipated capacity shortfalls in southern BC and the U.S. Pacific Northwest. Sunrise, among other things, was planned to respond to liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports from the West Coast.

The Project was subject to a lengthy public hearing before the Commission of the Canada Energy Regulator (CER), which included extensive participation by Indigenous nations, landowners, governments, non-governmental organizations and industry stakeholders.

In January 2026, the CER issued a Commission Report recommending that a certificate be issued authorizing construction and operation of the Project under the Canadian Energy Regulator Act (CER Act). The Commission concluded that the Project is required by present and future public convenience, as well as necessity. However, approval is subject to compliance with 47 binding conditions. Read the full article by Alan Ross, Logan Hale and Kieran Boyko with Borden Ladner Gervails LLP.

B.C. Gold Company Fined $162K
for Environmental Failures
B.C. has penalized a gold mining company over $162,000 for failing to monitor its operations and leaking mine waste into the environment.

Barkerville Gold Mines Ltd. (BGM) – a subsidiary of Osisko Development Corp. – owns a number of mining assets in B.C.'s Cariboo region, including historical mine sites, a processing mill, and another mine it is moving toward full-scale production.

One of those the Bonanza Ledge mine: Put into care and maintenance in 2022, the mine is located at the headwaters of Lowhee Creek between the historic Barkerville townsite and the community of Wells. In the past, ore extracted from the site was transported to the company's Quesnel River mine for processing. Read the BIV article.

Trump Signs Order Authorizing Bridger's
Canada-Wyoming Crude Pipeline
U.S. President ‌Donald Trump on Thursday signed an order authorizing a proposed project to transport Canadian oil across the border as part of an effort to revive parts of the cancelled Keystone XL pipeline.

South Bow, the Canadian pipeline company behind the cancelled Keystone XL pipeline, is partnering with U.S. company Bridger Pipeline on the proposed project.

South Bow is considering reviving some of the already built line in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Bridger Pipeline is pursuing construction of a potential 1,038-kilometre pipeline beginning near the U.S.-Canada border in Phillips County, Mont., and transiting to Guernsey, Wyo.

As Trump signed the order, White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf told the president, "This is a trans-border pipeline similar to the old Keystone XL pipeline." Read the CBC article.

Canada and Australia Deepen Cooperation on
Critical Minerals: Key Takeaways
On March 5, Prime Minister Mark Carney and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese released a sweeping joint statement from Canberra covering investment, defence, energy, and artificial intelligence. Particularly for those in the mining sector, the central message was that cooperation on critical minerals between Canada and Australia has entered a new and more consequential phase.

Australia has formally joined the Critical Minerals Production Alliance, an initiative launched under Canada's G7 presidency in 2025 to expand production and processing capacity and to diversify supply chains from mine to market. This development is strategically significant. Canada and Australia rank among the world's largest holders of critical mineral reserves and resources that are foundational to defence technologies, electric vehicle batteries, and the rapidly expanding global AI infrastructure. Read the full article by Pierre-Olivier Valiquette and Steve Malas with Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP.

A Practical Guide to Assessing the
Acquisition of a Mining Asset
Acquiring a mining asset can create exceptional value, but only when risks are identified early and managed strategically. In mining transactions, headline issues such as reserves, production potential, and commodity outlook often attract the most attention, yet many factors can affect deal success sit beneath the surface: jurisdictional instability, title defects, permitting uncertainty, community opposition, tax exposure, sanctions risk, and hidden legacy liabilities.

This practical guide highlights the legal considerations sophisticated buyers should take into account before structuring, pricing or signing an acquisition. From political risk and investment treaty protection to joint venture governance, environmental exposure, Indigenous rights, and transaction execution risk, early legal due diligence can be the difference between acquiring opportunity and inheriting problems. Read the full article by Shawn Doyle with McCarthy Tétrault.

BC Energy Regulator Announcements
The following BC Energy Regulator announcements were posted recently:

• TU 2026-08 – Updates to the Management of Saline Fluids for Hydraulic Fracturing Guideline
• TU 2026-09 – Permittee Capability Assessment Program Improvements
• IU 2026-02 – BC Energy Regulator Issues Order to LNG Canada
• IU 2026-03 – Fees for Renewable Energy Projects
• SA 2026-01 – 2026 Wildfire Preparedness

Visit the BCER website for more information.

B.C. Amends Environmental Assessment Act: New Dispute Resolution
Processes and Limits to U.S. Tribes' Participation
On April 16, 2026, the province of British Columbia passed Bill 15, the Environmental Assessment Amendment Act, 2026 (Bill 15), to amend the dispute resolution processes in the Environmental Assessment Act (EA Act). The changes seek to strengthen consensus-seeking in environmental assessments by introducing a new issue resolution protocol and limiting the matters eligible for dispute resolution. Further, Bill 15 limits participation by United States tribes in environmental assessments by prohibiting their inclusion as a "participating Indigenous nation."

Dispute resolution is a right exercisable by participating Indigenous nations at key decision points in the environmental assessment process with the aim of supporting consensus-seeking between the province and First Nations. Since its introduction in 2022, dispute resolution has been initiated pursuant to the EA Act eleven times in respect of three projects. Both First Nations and proponents have been critical of the process, which has done little to streamline assessments or provide certainty to proponents, and has been a major source of delay in completing timely assessments on major projects.

The province has been engaged in consultation with First Nations and proponents on revisions to the dispute resolution provisions of the EA Act, and this engagement has illustrated demand for clear, structured processes for addressing disagreements, avoiding reliance on formal dispute resolution, and clarity on which decisions are eligible for dispute resolution. Read the full article by Sam Adkins, Paulina Adamson and Matthew Vreugde with Blakes.

Contaminated Land, No Way Out: BC Court of Appeal Holds Buyer
to $8.25M Purchase Despite Seller's Misrepresentation
Zuo v. Chen, 2026 BCCA 109
If you are buying land and discover prior to closing that it is contaminated, and that the seller had misled your realtor about the presence of contamination, are you entitled to walk away? A recent BC Court of Appeal case would say no.

The British Columbia Court of Appeal has dismissed two appeals arising from a collapsed $8.25 million commercial property purchase in a decision that should raise concerns for parties purchasing real estate and/or involved in closing disputes involving contaminated land. Of particular concern, the Court:

• Held that the sale contract remained in force despite accepting that the seller had repeatedly falsely represented that it had not received any environmental reports, when in fact it had received a Golder Environmental report confirming that the property was a former gas station and contaminated
• Refused to accept expert evidence that the presence of contamination would make the transaction impossible to finance

Read the full article by Thomas D. Boyd and Olena Tkachenko with Lawson Lundell LLP.

First Nation Sues B.C for Approving Logging
on Land Slated for Conservation
A B.C. First Nation has mounted a legal challenge against the Ministry of Forests after one of its officials approved a timber-cutting permit in forests that overlap with a proposed Indigenous conservation area.

In an April 21 application, the Kanaka Bar Indian Band claims a district manager approved cutting permits for Interwest Timber Ltd. to harvest roughly 35 hectares across four cut blocks.

B.C.'s Office for the Attorney General and staff for Kanaka Bar both declined to comment on the petition. Interwest did not respond to emails and phone calls by the time of publication.

None of the claims have been tested in court.

The logging area, which also includes a permit to build an access road, "substantially overlaps" with traditional territory the band has spent years negotiating to protect.

In an affidavit, band councillor Pauline Michell described its traditional territory as its "backyard" where extracting resources requires consent. Read the BIV article.

Minister Says B.C. Expects Billions from
Feds for Forestry if U.S. Talks Fail
British Columbia's forests minister says he expects billions in additional federal support for the timber sector if future trade talks with the United States don't benefit the softwood lumber industry.

Ravi Parmer says B.C. will use every opportunity to remind Ottawa that the pending renegotiation of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico-Agreement on trade, better known as CUSMA, must include forestry.

If it doesn't, he says the province expects Ottawa to double or even triple the more than $2 billion in supports it has provided the sector nationwide since last August.

Parmar says federal negotiators "must recognize that if they are unsuccessful" in addressing U.S. duties and tariffs on timber, B.C. will need help.

The minister says his province won't be afraid to ask for more money to diversify the industry and help workers. Read the BIV article.

Ad Standards Issues New Environmental Claims Guidance
On April 16, 2026, Ad Standards Advisory issued its Guidance on Environmental Claims in Advertising (the "Guidance") to help ensure that environmental or "green" claims in advertising comply with the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards (the "Code").

A goal of Ad Standards it to help advertisers avoid "greenwashing," which they've noted occurs when an advertiser exaggerates environmental benefits, minimizes negative impacts, or lacks competent and reliable evidence in connection with their "green" claims.

The Guidance sets out 10 tips for advertisers. Notably, pursuant to tip #2, Ad Standards states that advertisers must have up-to-date, valid, reliable, and relevant scientific evidence to support all claims, both direct and implied, that would likely be accepted by experts in the field. Read the full article by René Bissonnette with Gowling WLG.

Indigenous Knowledge Network Launches to Strengthen
Community-Led Forest Stewardship Across Canada
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Canada, together with the FSC Canada Indigenous Chamber, the FSC Indigenous Foundation, and Indigenous communities across the country, is proud to announce the launch of the Indigenous Knowledge Networks, a new Indigenous led initiative designed to strengthen community-driven forest stewardship, knowledge sharing, and rights-based governance.

The Indigenous Knowledge Networks will serve as a collaborative platform where Indigenous communities can connect, share wise practices, and advance their own stewardship priorities in ways that reflect local governance systems, cultural protocols, and community-defined goals.

As part of the launch, Wahkohtowin Development GP has been named the first regional Network, supporting sister Nations across the Northeast Superior Region. Wahkohtowin will lead in-person gatherings, virtual learning opportunities, and community-driven activities that strengthen relationships and build capacity across the region. Read the Canadian Forest Industries article (paywall).

Banning Breeding, Future Ownership of Exotic Cats
B.C. is moving forward with changes to the Controlled Alien Species Regulation (CASR) under the Wildlife Act that ban the breeding, transport and future ownership of all non-native and non-domestic cats, effective Friday, May 1, 2026.

The changes expand the regulation to include all non-native and non-domestic cat species not previously captured by CASR, strengthening protections for public safety, animal welfare and ecosystems. Read the government news release.

Spring 2026 Seasonal Outlook
Heading into the 2026 wildfire season, fuel conditions across British Columbia reflect a combination of last summer's Drought Code, winter precipitation events and recent warm and dry conditions. These factors have influenced moisture levels across the landscape and will shape wildfire potential across the province in the coming months.

Highlights of the seasonal outlook include the following:

• Wetter-than-normal conditions were recorded for B.C. in December prior to freeze-up which helped alleviate drought conditions for the majority of B.C., including the Coast and the Southeast. March was another wet month which helped to further alleviate drought concerns in many regions of the province.
• Despite higher than average rainfall during the 2025 summer, the northeast region of B.C. remains an area of concern given the ongoing, multi-year drought conditions
• Moderate drought conditions also exist in the western parts of the Cariboo Fire Centre (Chilcotin) and the majority of the Kamloops Fire Centre
• Higher-than-normal winter freezing levels have resulted in record low snow at valley bottom. This increases the likelihood of early season grass fires in Interior valleys
• The severity of the 2026 wildfire season will largely depend on the amount and frequency of spring (May and June) precipitation
• Unfortunately, there is little or no skill in long range precipitation forecasting so stay tuned via the BC Wildfire Service app and social media

Read the blog post from the BC Wildfire Service.

Federal Government Puts Out $412.9 Million to
Renew the Pacific Salmon Initiative
The federal government is spending $412.9 million over five years to renew the Pacific Salmon Strategy in a plan to protect and rebuild wild populations.

Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson made the announcement in North Vancouver Tuesday [April 7], saying in a statement that the first five years of the initiative has shown what is possible when partners work together to restore habitat, expand hatchery programs, improve management and find new ways to protect vulnerable stocks.

"But the challenges facing wild Pacific salmon are far from over," Thompson said in the statement. "Through the renewed (salmon strategy), our government is committing to the next chapter of this work – one grounded in science, guided by Indigenous leadership, and driven by the shared responsibility to protect salmon for generations to come." Read the Canadian Press article.

Making Wildlife Trapping More Humane
New rules limit use of 'egg' traps to improve animal welfare
New regulations under the Wildlife Act are now in effect to restrict the use of foot-encapsulating traps, commonly known as egg traps to licensed trappers.

Changes require the traps to be solidly anchored, strengthening animal welfare standards in B.C. Read the government news release.

Environmental Appeal Board Decisions
The following Environmental Appeal Board decisions were made recently:

Water Sustainability Act

• Doreen DeVito, Barbara Round, Save Simms Creek Society v. Water Manager [Preliminary Decision – Denied]

Water Users' Communities Act

• Randy Reagh v. Deputy Comptroller of Water Rights [Summary Dismissal Decision – Appeal Dismissed]

Visit the Environmental Appeal Board website for more information.

BC Reports 138 Work-related Deaths in 2025;
Occupational Diseases the Leading Cause
British Columbia's workers' compensation agency says 138 people died on the job or from workplace injuries and illnesses last year. WorkSafeBC says in a statement that 79 of those deaths were from occupational diseases, including 36 from asbestos exposure. The deaths for 2025 also include 41 deaths from traumatic workplace injuries such as falls, being struck by objects or being caught in equipment and machinery. There were also 18 deaths stemming from work-related motor-vehicle accidents. The figures were released in advance of the annual day of mourning on Tuesday to commemorate fallen workers in the province. WorkSafeBC says last year's death rate is the lowest in recent years, with the number of fatalities reaching 181 in 2022, then sliding since then to 146 recorded in 2024. Read the BIV article.

'Walk It Off': New Guide Takes Aim at
Dismissive Workplace Culture
On many Canadian job sites, pain is still treated as a badge of honour rather than a workplace hazard. With the launch of the Guide Line – a free, confidential text service for B.C. trades workers – Pain BC is trying to change that culture and give workers somewhere to turn before chronic pain derails their lives and careers. Backed by a blunt public campaign calling out "walk it off" and "push through the pain" attitudes, the initiative spotlights how normalized suffering can undermine safety and performance. Read the full article by Stacy Thomas with Canadian HRReporter.

TSB Flags Human Factors and Emergency Gaps after
BC Fuel Spilling Train Collision
A Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) investigation has found that a BNSF freight train that derailed near Delta, B.C., in November 2023 passed a stop signal before striking another freight train in a busy transportation corridor. The investigation report says northbound train 804 "passed a Stop signal indication and collided with southbound BNSF Railway Company freight train M‑VBCEVE1‑18T" at Oliver siding on the New Westminster Subdivision on 19 November 2023. On the southbound train, two intermodal cars derailed. On the northbound train, two locomotives and five cars came off the track, including three tank cars that were carrying or had carried liquefied petroleum gas. No dangerous goods were released from the tank cars, but the fuel tank on the lead locomotive was "extensively damaged, resulting in the release of approximately 8000 litres of diesel fuel. There were no injuries," the TSB notes. Read the full article by Shane Mercer with Canadian Occupational Safety. 

Langley Contractor Fined $575K in
Fatal Burnaby Trench Collapse
Langley, B.C., excavation contractor J. Cote and Son Excavating Ltd. has been fined more than $575,000 after a 2012 trench collapse in Burnaby killed one worker and seriously injured another during a storm sewer replacement project, according to report. The employer was sentenced in B.C. Supreme Court after being found guilty of criminal negligence causing death and criminal negligence causing bodily harm in relation to the Oct. 11, 2012 incident on Edinburgh Street, CBC reported.Pipe layer Jeffrey (Jeff) Caron, 28, was killed when a concrete retaining wall toppled into an approximately 2.4‑metre‑deep trench. Co‑worker Thomas Richer suffered fractured ribs, chronic back pain and long‑term psychological impacts arising from the collapse. Read the full article by Jim Wilson with Canadian Occupational Safety. 

OHS Policies/Guidelines – Updates

Guidelines – Occupational Health and Safety Regulation
April 1, 2026
The following guidelines were revised or retired consequential to amendments to the OHS Regulation in effect on April 1, 2026.

• Part 8: Personal Protective Clothing and Equipment – Safety Headgear
  • G8.12/8.13 Use of safety headgear for workers on ATVs similar equipment in agricultural operations (revised)
  • G8.13 Use of safety headgear with bicycles and skates (revised)
• Part 8: Personal Protective Clothing and Equipment – Respirators
  • G8.33-1 Respiratory protection – Selection (revised)
  • G8.33(1) Selection of respiratory protection – Alternate standard (retired)
  • G8.34-3 Maximum use concentration and IDLH (revised)
  • G8.40 Respiratory protection – Fit test (revised)
  • G8.41 User seal check – Alternate standard (retired)
  • G8.44 Records (retired)
  • G8.45 Maintenance and inspection of self-contained breathing apparatus (revised)
• Part 31: Firefighting – Respirators
  • G31.26 Maintenance and inspection of self-contained breathing apparatus (revised)

Policies – Occupational Health and Safety Regulation
April 1, 2026
Housekeeping changes were made to the following policy items to reflect amendments to the OHS Regulation in effect on April 1, 2026.

• R8.33-1 Respirators – Interchanging Air Cylinders
• R8.33-2 Respirators – Interchanging Air Lines

Visit the WorkSafeBC website to explore this and previous updates.