Canada Formally Issues Biodiesel Mandate

The Canadian government formally published a regulation July 20 mandating a 2% biodiesel blend in most provinces.

The regulation takes effect Sept. 18 in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario, Environment Canada said in the Canada Gazette, the government’s official publication.

It will take effect in most of Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island in December 2012. The territories, Newfoundland and Labrador and northern Quebec are exempt from the mandate.

The Canadian Trucking Alliance has pushed against the mandate, arguing that it provides little environmental benefit and would increase costs for trucking and the country as a whole (2-21, p. 2).