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notes. But with the current Conservative government saying it will take 2006 as a benchmark, Domtar might not find itself very far ahead. At the same time, Boucher wonders how much credit companies will get for taking early action on emissions, some- thing environmentalists say is important to encourage industry to make reduc- tions now. Plus, businesses with facilities across the country need to know wheth- er carbon targets will apply to individual plants or to the company as a whole. Certain mills at Domtar, for example, are able to make reductions more easily than others, meaning the company would prefer to see targets based on its overall emissions. As well, without price signals from a carbon market, Boucher says deciding how and where to take action is difficult. "It's impossible. So what we do is [we] plan investments in terms of energy efficiency." For his part, Manning says Ontario's proposed green energy act holds some promise for at least answering a few of the questions on the electricity front. While he believes the plan is more about meeting the province's goal of phasing out coal-fired power generation rather than a bid to address climate change, he feels the law will be a major boon to the smaller producers that will supply much of the alternative energy Ontario is counting on. Plans for a new feed-in tariff that would guarantee producers a certain price for their power are a big incentive, he notes. As well, a proposed $5-billion investment in a so-called smart transmission grid will make build- ing new projects more feasible, he adds. But for Paul Cassidy, a partner with Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP in Vancouver, bold action is urgently need- ed because the competition to get ahead on the green energy front, including with several U.S. states, will be intense "because everybody wants to be a leader in this." As a result, he's not yet sure whether Ontario is going far enough. In Alberta and B.C., industry has already had the chance to get used to carbon pricing schemes, but as Cassidy points out, the lack of a detailed fed- eral plan means companies there still face uncertainty. And while Manning believes the need to conform with U.S. regulations means Canada's federal gov- ernment will jettison plans to limit emissions based on intensity in favour of hard caps, Cassidy says the key con- cern for businesses in the West is the need to ensure the rules target a broad range of sectors rather than just the oil industry. As a result, he suspects B.C. might hit even small entities with new regulations as it irons out its cap-and-trade rules under the Western Climate Initiative this year, something he believes heralds at least one certainty in an area full of ques- tion marks: "This is not simply a matter of picking on oil companies," he says. "There is going to be carbon regulation for everyone. That's the only way it's going to work. You would be dreaming in Technicolor if you think this isn't going to get passed down to consumers." www. mag.com APRIL 2009 53