Forward Regulatory Plan: Environment and Climate Change Canada

The Cabinet Directive on Regulations requires that departments and agencies publish a Forward Regulatory Plan yearly, by April 1st. The Government of Canada’s response to COVID-19 includes prioritizing resources towards regulatory initiatives related to COVID-19. Exceptionally, Environment and Climate Change Canada will delay publishing its Forward Regulatory Plan 2020-2022 until the plan can be adjusted accordingly.

A forward regulatory plan is a publicly available list, with descriptions, of planned or anticipated regulatory changes (regulatory initiatives) that Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) intends to propose or finalize within a 2-year period. The plan may also include regulatory initiatives that are planned to come forward over a longer time frame.

Some of the initiatives in this plan may be associated with ECCC’s multi-year plan to review its existing regulations (stock review plan).

Forward Regulatory Plans are intended to help Canadians, including businesses, Indigenous peoples and trading partners plan for:

  • Opportunities to provide feedback during regulatory development
  • Future regulatory changes

The Forward Regulatory Plan briefly describes each regulatory initiative and includes information such as:

  •  who may be affected by a regulatory initiative
  • regulatory cooperation efforts undertaken or planned
  • opportunities for public consultation
  • links to related information or analysis
  • ECCC’s contact information 

The Forward Regulatory Plan will be updated over time to reflect, for example:

  • progress in regulatory development
  • changes to ECCC’s regulatory priorities or its operating environment

Consult ECCC’s acts and regulations for:

  • a list of acts and regulations administered by ECCC
  • further information on ECCC’s implementation of government-wide regulatory management initiatives

For more information

Consult the following for links to the Cabinet Directive on Regulation and supporting policies and guidance, and for information on government-wide regulatory initiatives implemented by departments and agencies across the Government of Canada:

To learn about upcoming or ongoing consultations on proposed federal regulations, visit:

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