Work with provinces and territories to set stronger air quality standards.

What success looks like

New national standards are put in place to improve air quality and reduce air pollutants from key sources, with progress demonstrated in recurring State of the Air reports.

Government's narrative on progress

The Government of Canada is implementing a national Air Quality Management System (AQMS) with provinces and territories to improve air quality and protect the health of Canadians and the environment. As part of this system, new ambient air quality standards for sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide were published in the Canada Gazette on October 28 and December 9, 2017 respectively. A review of the existing ambient air quality standards for ozone has been completed. Updated ozone standards are expected to be approved by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) in summer 2019. A new State of the Air Report was launched at the CCME in November 2017 to inform Canadians about air quality and air pollution. The government has also established national emissions standards to reduce air pollutants from industrial sources, including in the following sectors: iron and steel; aluminum; potash; pulp and paper; iron ore pellets; base metals smelting; cement; and the following equipment: stationary spark-ignition engines; non-utility boilers and heaters; stationary combustion turbines. In December 2018, Canada published two regulations to limit carbon dioxide emissions: one amendment to accelerate the phase-out of coal-fired power by 2030, and the other to set emission performance standards for new natural gas-fired electricity generation and coal boilers converted to run on natural gas. This will significantly improve air quality and the health of Canadians and will reduce Canada's greenhouse gas emissions by more than 12.8 megatonnes in 2030. In March 2019, the Government of Canada published proposed regulations to replace the current *Off-Road Compression-Ignition Engine Emission Regulations* and introduce new emission standards and requirements aligned with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's standards for large spark-ignition engines and stationary compression-ignition engines.

Note: this is the government's own description, not an independent assessment.