Canadian Greenhouse Gas Offset Credit System Regulations (SOR/2022-111)

Marginal note:Suspension of offset credits

38 If, for the purposes of subsection 180(1) of the Act, the Minister suspends offset credits in the proponent’s GHG Offset Credit System account — either because the Minister has received notice from a proponent that a reversal has occurred or because he or she has reasonable grounds to suspect that a reversal has occurred —, the Minister must notify the proponent of the suspension and its effective date.

Marginal note:Information to the Minister

• 39 (1) If the Minister suspends offset credits in the proponent’s GHG Offset Credit System account because the Minister has reasonable grounds to suspect that a reversal has occurred, the proponent must, within 60 days after the date the notice referred to in section 38 is received, submit to the Minister the information referred to in subsection 37(1) and, if the proponent contests that a reversal has occurred, submit the list of reversal risk mitigation measures and monitoring activities that were implemented since the submission of the last monitoring report and a declaration by the proponent that the reversal risk management plan was implemented and that no reversal occurred.

• Marginal note:Minister’s decision

  (2) The Minister must notify the proponent of the Minister’s decision with respect to whether or not a reversal has occurred.

• Marginal note:Reversal report

  (3) If the Minister determines that a reversal has occurred, the proponent must, within 18 months after the date of the notice referred to in subsection (2) is received, submit to the Minister the reversal report set out in subsection 37(2) and the declaration specified in subsection 37(4), together with a verification report.

Marginal note:Evaluation of reversal

• 40 (1) Following receipt of the reversal report, the Minister must determine whether the cause of the reversal was within the control of the proponent and whether there was a failure to implement a reversal risk management plan.

• Marginal note:Voluntary reversal

  (2) If the Minister determines that the cause of the reversal was within the control of the proponent or there was a failure to implement a reversal risk management plan, the Minister may

  • (a) for the purposes of section 180 of the Act, revoke any offset credits in the proponent’s GHG Offset Credit System account for the project in respect of which the reversal occurred and a number of offset credits in the environmental integrity account equal to the number of offset credits deposited into that account in respect of the project;

  • (b) if the number of offset credits revoked from the proponent’s GHG Offset Credit System account for the project under paragraph (a) is less than the number of offset credits issued to the proponent in respect of the project,

    • (i) for the purposes of subsection 181(1) of the Act, require the proponent to remit compliance units by giving them notice indicating the number of compliance units to be remitted and the deadline by which the remittance is to be made, and

    • (ii) where the proponent does not remit compliance units in accordance with subparagraph (i) or make a payment in lieu under subsection 181(3) of the Act, revoke, for the purposes of section 180 of the Act, offset credits in the environmental integrity account to make up the difference; and

  • (c) cancel the registration of the project in accordance with paragraph 14(1)(e).

• Marginal note:Manner of remittance

  (3) Subject to subsection (4), the compliance units remitted to the Minister under subparagraph (2)(b)(i), in accordance with subsection 181(2) of the Act, must

  • (a) in the case of offset credits or units or credits recognized by a regulation made under the Act, have been issued for GHG reductions that occurred within the eight calendar years before the deadline indicated in the notice provided under that subparagraph; and

  • (b) in the case of surplus credits, have been issued within five calendar years before the deadline indicated in the notice provided to the proponent.

• Marginal note:Surplus credits

  (4) In the case where a proponent is required to remit compliance units, the proponent may remit surplus credits if those surplus credits were issued to a covered facility located in a province listed in Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the Act in the calendar year the Minister notified the proponent under subparagraph (2)(b)(i) of the requirement to remit compliance units.

• Marginal note:Involuntary reversal

  (5) If the Minister determines that the cause of the reversal was not within the proponent’s control and there was no failure to implement the reversal risk management plan, the Minister may

  • (a) lift any suspension;

  • (b) revoke, for the purposes of section 180 of the Act, the number of offset credits in the environmental integrity account that corresponds to the lesser of the quantity of the GHGs released into the atmosphere during the reversal and the quantity of offset credits that have been issued in respect of the project; and

  • (c) if applicable, cancel the registration of the project in accordance with paragraph 14(1)(f).

General

Marginal note:Electronic submission

• 41 (1) Any information that is required to be provided to the Minister under these Regulations must be submitted electronically in the form and format specified by the Minister and must bear the electronic signature of the proponent or of their authorized official.

• Marginal note:Provision on paper

  (2) If the Minister has not specified an electronic form and format or if it is not feasible to submit the information in accordance with subsection (1) because of circumstances beyond the control of the proponent or their authorized official, the information must be submitted on paper, signed by the proponent or their authorized official, in the form and format specified by the Minister. However, if no form and format has been so specified, it may be in any form and format.

Marginal note:Notification following change

• 42 (1) A proponent must notify the Minister, in writing, within 30 days following the date after a change to any of the following:

  • (a) the information referred to in paragraph 1(a), (b), (d) or (g) of Schedule 1 or paragraph 1(a) or (b) or 2(a), (b) or (c) of Schedule 2; and

  • (b) the project start date, if it is different than the anticipated start date.

• Marginal note:Pre-notification of change

  (2) A proponent must notify the Minister, in writing, no less than 30 days before the day on which they make a change to any reversal risk mitigation measure or monitoring activity undertaken to mitigate those risks.

Marginal note:Application for transfer

• 43 (1) A request for the transfer of a project registration to another person must be submitted to the Minister by the proponent of the project and must include

  • (a) the project registration number, and, if applicable, as the case may be:

    • (i) the registration number for the aggregation being transferred and the registration number for each project registered as part of that aggregation, in the case of a transfer of an aggregation of projects, or

    • (ii) the registration number of the aggregation the group of projects was part of, the registration number of the aggregation the projects are being transferred to, if any, and the registration number of each project being transferred, in the case of a transfer of a group of projects registered as part of an aggregation;

  • (b) a declaration signed by the proponent or their authorized official as well as a declaration signed by the person to whom the transfer will be made or their authorized official, stating that they consent to the transfer along with, if the request for a transfer is with respect to an aggregation of projects or a group of project registered as part of an aggregation, a written record of the consent to transfer from the person carrying out the project activities for each project that is being transferred;

  • (c) the information referred to in paragraphs 1(a) to (c) of Schedule 1 or 1(a) to (c) of Schedule 2, as the case may be, with respect to the person to whom the transfer is being made; and

  • (d) the number of the account in the GHG Offset Credit System account in the tracking system of the person to whom the transfer will be made.

• Marginal note:Information to be provided

  (2) The person to whom the transfer is being made, or their authorized official, must submit to the Minister

  • (a) the project registration number of the project to be transferred; and

  • (b) the information referred to in Schedule 1 or 2, as the case may be, with respect to the person to whom the transfer is being made.

• Marginal note:Declaration

  (3) The person to whom the transfer is being made or their authorized official must submit to the Minister a declaration, dated and signed by that person or their authorized official, stating that the information they have provided is accurate and complete.

Marginal note:Information

44 The proponent must provide the Minister with the following information with any remittance or payment in lieu of remitting compliance units, referred to in paragraph 15(1)(b), subsection 35(1), paragraph 35(2)(b) or paragraph 40(2)(b):

• (a) the project registration number or in the case of an aggregation of projects, the registration number of the aggregation along with the project registration number for the projects in which an error or omission occurred;

• (b) the calendar year for which the remittance or payment in lieu is being made;

• (c) the number of compliance units in respect of which remittance or payment is being made;

• (d) the details of any payments made under subsection 181(3) of the Act, including

  • (i) the amount in dollars paid to the Receiver General for Canada,

  • (ii) the applicable rate, and

  • (iii) the date of the payment;

• (e) the details of any surplus credits or offset credits remitted, including for each type of credit

  • (i) the number of credits remitted,

  • (ii) the date of the remittance transaction,

  • (iii) the serial numbers, and

  • (iv) the date or dates on which they were issued; and

• (f) the details of any units or credits, recognized as compliance units, remitted, including

  • (i) the number of units or credits remitted,

  • (ii) the province or territory or program authority referred to in subsection 78(1) of the Output-Based Pricing System Regulations that issued the units or credits,

  • (iii) the date on which the unit or credit was retired or locked in the provincial or territorial program for the sole purpose of remittance as a recognized compliance unit under the Act,

  • (iv) the serial numbers assigned to them by the province or territory or program authority referred to in subsection 78(1) of the Output-Based Pricing System Regulations,

  • (v) the start date of the offset project for which the unit or credit was issued,

  • (vi) the year in which the GHG reduction occurred for which the unit or credit was issued,

  • (vii) the offset protocol applicable to the project for which the unit or credit was issued, including the version number and publication date, and

  • (viii) the name of the verification body that verified the units or credits.

Marginal note:Content of record

• 45 (1) A proponent must keep a record of the following information for each project for which they are responsible:

  • (a) any information provided in an application for registration of a project, updates to that information, and supporting documents;

  • (b) any requests to transfer the registration of a project to another proponent;

  • (c) all documents, records or data used in preparation of the registration application;

  • (d) documents that demonstrate that the operation, maintenance, and calibration of measuring devices was done in accordance with these Regulations;

  • (e) all data used for a calculation made under these Regulations, for each source, sink and reservoir, including data used to estimate missing data;

  • (f) all sampling, analysis and measurement data used for a calculation made under these Regulations;

  • (g) the calculation, sampling, analysis and measurement methods used for a calculation made under these Regulations;

  • (h) the procedural changes made in data collection and calculations and changes to measuring devices used to quantify GHG emissions and removals;

  • (i) any errors or omissions identified and the measures taken to correct them, with all supporting data and documentation; and

  • (j) further records as specified in the protocol regarding the project activities.

• Marginal note:Location of records

  (2) The records must be kept and retained at the proponent’s principal place of business in Canada or, on notification to the Minister, at any other place in Canada where they can be inspected.

• Marginal note:Retention of records

  (3) For the purposes of subsection 187(5) of the Act, the records specified in subsection (1) must be retained either

  • (a) for the period of beginning on the day the record was created and ending 10 years after the last day of the crediting period to which they relate, or

  • (b) if the record is created with respect to a project referred to in subsection 22(1), the period beginning on the day the record was created and ending 10 years after the last day of the period for which monitoring reports are required.