The Right Honourable Mark Carney, P.C., M.P., Prime Minister of Canada.
The Honourable Julie Aviva Dabrusin, P.C., M.P., Minister of the Environment, Climate Change and Nature.
The Honourable Tim Hodgson, P.C., M.P., Minister of Energy and Natural Resources.
Dear Prime Minister and Ministers,
Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ) is a national organization inspired by faith to advocate for social and environmental justice in Canadian public policy. Lent is a season for truth-telling and course correction. On coal, the federal government needs to do both, because Ottawa has played a direct role in enabling coal to persist in Canada.
By signing and maintaining the Canada-Saskatchewan equivalency agreement and issuing the federal order that stands down Canada’s coal-fired electricity rules in Saskatchewan, your government has made it easier for a province to disregard federal climate law and keep burning coal for electricity. It is a decision that prolongs toxic air pollution, slows the clean energy transition, and makes Canada’s climate targets harder to reach. This loophole persists by federal choice, not necessity. The agreement can be terminated with notice, and you should use that power.
Other provinces have already done their fair share. Ontario ended coal-fired electricity in 2014, over a decade ago. Alberta completed its coal phase-out in 2024. Saskatchewan is choosing a different path. The province has announced plans to keep coal in the electricity system until 2050 and is committing $900 million to refurbish the Boundary Dam, Poplar River, and Shand coal plants. If Canada is serious about meeting its climate goals, that is a recipe for stranded assets and higher costs, all to keep burning one of the dirtiest fuels on the grid.
The human stakes are just as stark. Federal analysis has found that phasing out coal power would avoid more than 1,000 premature deaths and yield an additional $5 billion in health benefits.[1] Every year we extend coal’s life is a choice to accept avoidable harm.
Hence, CPJ supporters call on the Government of Canada to take three actions:
- Terminate the Canada-Saskatchewan equivalency agreement immediately, by providing notice now, so federal coal-fired electricity laws apply in Saskatchewan without delay.
- Commit publicly to not grant, renew, or expand any equivalency agreement that allows coal to be burned for electricity generation in any province, including Saskatchewan.
- Enforce Canada’s coal-fired electricity laws and the Clean Electricity Regulations across the country, and pair enforcement with practical support to scale up renewables, storage, efficiency, and grid upgrades, including Indigenous-led clean power and a just transition for workers and communities.
If Canada wants to live true to its international ambition as a co-leader of the Powering Past Coal Alliance, it must take tangible steps at home to eliminate coal, not sign loopholes that keep it alive.
In solidarity,
[Signatory name]
P.S. This open letter is part of CPJ’s Give it up for the Earth! 2026 Lenten campaign, inviting faith communities, civil society organizations, and people across Canada to add their names in support of ending coal loopholes.
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[1] Government of Canada. “Phasing out coal power.” Government of Canada, accessed January 2026.
https://www.canada.ca/en/services/environment/weather/climatechange/climate-plan/phasing-out-coal-power.html
What’s an equivalency agreement?
An equivalency agreement is a formal deal the federal government can sign with a province under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA). In plain language: if Ottawa decides a province has “equivalent” rules and enforcement for a specific federal regulation—like Canada's coal regulations—the federal government can sign an equivalency agreement and then issue an order that makes the federal regulation stop applying in that province.
In the context of our open letter, the Canada–Saskatchewan equivalency agreement is tied to Canada’s coal-fired electricity rules. Because Ottawa signed the agreement, it also issued an order declaring that the federal coal-fired electricity regulations do not apply in Saskatchewan, creating a federal permission structure for coal to keep operating there under provincial rules instead.
Importantly, equivalency agreements are not permanent: under CEPA they have a maximum term (up to five years) and can be terminated early by either party with at least three months’ notice.
