Canadian Lawyer InHouse

21 CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM/INHOUSE NOVEMBER 2017 to the federal government in terms of cli- mate change regulations. With new lead- ership in that party, there may be changes afoot there, too," he says. Dyck says most of the U.S. clients he ad- vises are looking at some operations in Can- ada, whether actually operating facilities or looking in companies already regulated and trying to figure out what it means. "Some of the clients in the U.S. we work with have their own experience there, over the last year where you see states like Cali - fornia moving forward with relatively ag- gressive models to regulate greenhouse gases and at the same time a big pullback at the federal level with the Trump administra- tion — it's that tension between the state and federal level our clients are seeing," he says. One example is the tailpipe emissions standards for vehicles that the Obama ad- ministration implemented and Trump ad- ministration has threatened to roll back, which California wants to keep in place, and a lot of auto companies are wondering which way this is going to go. "That whole discussion ultimately flows up to Canada because it's one big North American market," he says. Dyck says what he hears from clients is that once regulations are in place they're actually able to live with them and integrate them into their business models because the regulations provide at least some degree of certainty around costs they will face and have to manage their operations. That may mean new pollution control equipment, for example. "What I think concerns some clients is the uncertainty around where those costs might go in the future. What we see with the cap-and-trade programs in Ontario and Quebec and California that are supposed to link together starting in 2018, a plan to escalate the cost of carbon in those markets so the costs of complying with those regula - tions in those jurisdictions over time. That's the same approach the federal government has started with their pan-Canadian frame- work; the idea being that as it becomes more expensive people have to make different de- cisions," he says. Where those prices will go is a bit of a question mark. Ontario, for example, has been grappling with the issue and put some containment over where the price can go over time and has been looking to Califor - nia as to how it's been done in that juris- diction and take some of those lessons and bring them to Canada. "The federal government plan is a little less clear on how they are going to contain the price moving forward. They have initial plans to move it up in increments over the next four to five years, but beyond that, it's a question mark," says Dyck, adding that the more regulation there is, the more people will understand it's a way of doing business. IH To date, they have been fairly resistant to the federal government in terms of climate change regulations. With new leadership in that party, there may be changes afoot there, too. TYSON DYCK, Torys LLP 24 Hour 416.420.0738 Your workplace experts. Employment Law Labour Law At Sherrard Kuzz LLP we collaborate with our clients to anticipate and avoid human resources problems. We know proactive steps today will prevent Murphy's Law tomorrow. From human rights to health and safety, and everything in between… If you're an employer, we're the only call you need to make. ployment Law our Law www.sherrardkuzz.com | 416.603.0700 | 24 Hour 416.420.0738 250 Yonge St #3300, Toronto, ON M5B 2L7 | @sherrardkuzz C A N A D I A N L A M A G A Z I N E RANKED ntitled-1 1 2017-10-04 2:09 PM

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