Week ending May 15, 2026

This spring session, Alberta’s government delivered on its commitment to put Albertans first with a legislative agenda that included 18 bills focused on protecting Albertans, strengthening the economy and ensuring Alberta maintains its reputation as the best place to live, work and raise a family.

Protecting those who call Alberta home was a key priority throughout the spring session. Alberta’s government took action to strengthen protections for children and families by setting expectations for neutrality in classrooms and reinforcing safe and respectful learning environments for both students and teachers. New legislation also introduced provincewide public library standards to ensure materials with explicit visual content cannot be accessed by children without parental consent.

Alberta’s government also moved to protect vulnerable Albertans by creating stronger safeguards for medical assistance in dying (MAID). Legislation was also passed to expand access to preventative testing, improve access to life-saving addiction treatment medications, and complete Alberta’s health system refocusing.

Other measures to protect Albertans included protecting consumers from hidden or misleading tourism fees, continuing implementation of the Alberta Sheriffs Police Service, and establishing provincial oversight of immigration to crack down on abuse by bad actors and restore confidence in the immigration system. Additionally, Alberta’s government updated the Animal Protection Act, putting in place stronger protections for animals in distress or at risk of distress.

“Our government has worked to bring forward and pass legislation that will make real changes that better the lives of Albertans and strengthen our reputation as the best place to do business. Now that the sitting has come to an end, I am even more confident that Alberta is headed in the right direction, maintaining its position as an economic leader and continuing to create opportunity, growth and prosperity for Albertans.”

Alberta’s economy continues to lead the nation and building on Alberta’s reputation as Canada’s economic engine was another major focus of the spring session. This included legislation to speed up major project approvals, expand interprovincial trade opportunities and reduce barriers that slow down business growth and investment.

The Expedited 120-Day Approvals Act created faster, more predictable timelines for major project approvals, helping attract investment and create jobs across the province. The Interprovincial Trade Mutual Recognition Act will help Alberta businesses access markets across Canada more easily by reducing unnecessary trade barriers.

Alberta’s government also passed the Alberta Whisky Act, establishing clear standards for Alberta Whisky, creating a branded, high-quality product that can be recognized around the world. Also, through the Red Tape Reduction Statutes Amendment Act, 2026, Albertans will no longer have to change their clocks twice a year for daylight saving time, reducing frustration for families and businesses.

This session also included action to strengthen Alberta’s justice system and recognize those who serve. Government passed a motion calling for a more collaborative approach to appointing superior court judges, while another unanimously passed motion urged the federal government to establish a process to recognize eligible veterans with the Canadian Victoria Cross.

Looking ahead, Alberta’s government will continue focusing on protecting Albertans, strengthening essential services, growing the economy and creating opportunity across the province.

AER Order Suspends MAGA Energy Operations

On April 22, 2026, the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) issued an order requiring MAGA Energy Ltd. (MAGA) to suspend its operations to protect the public and environment. 

Based on MAGA’s unpaid municipal taxes, AER and Orphan Well Association debt, and failure to meet its commitments, the Director assessed that the Licensee does not have the capacity to fulfill its regulatory and liability obligations. MAGA currently holds 581 wells, 108 facilities, and 801 pipeline segments. 

The order requires MAGA to address its non-compliances. All requirements of the order must be met before the AER will grant approval to resume operations. 

These requirements include addressing the Remediation Regulation(opens in new window) for multiple sites, resolving outstanding field inspections, complying with the Pipeline Rules(opens in new window), fulfilling mandatory closure spend quota obligations, addressing overdue mineral-lease expired wells, and submitting site-specific liability assessments. 

If compliance is not achieved, the AER may use further compliance and enforcement tools. As described in Manual 013, these tools include notices of noncompliance, warnings, orders, administrative sanctions or administrative penalties. 

A Force of Nature: Canada’s Strategy to Protect Nature

Nature is foundational to Canadian identity. Canada’s forests, lakes, rivers, prairies, mountains, tundra, and oceans are part of who we are, strengthen sovereignty, support the economy, and sustain life. Nature underpins food systems, clean air and water, energy, climate and disaster resilience, and Canada’s identity—yet it faces mounting threats from climate change, urbanization, and biodiversity loss. Nature is a key driver as we work to build our economy while integrating biodiversity considerations into infrastructure and resource development.

Today, the Honourable Nathalie Provost, Secretary of State (Nature), highlighted 16 projects across British Columbia. These projects represent a $272 million investment to plant over 95 million trees, helping to protect nature and biodiversity in Canada by restoring critical habitats for species at risk and wildfire-affected areas, as well as supporting Indigenous-led reforestation efforts through tree planting.

On March 31, 2026, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the federal government’s new strategy for nature, with an investment of $3.8 billion. A Force of Nature: Canada’s Strategy to Protect Nature is based on three pillars for action to harmonize nature protection and economic growth: Protecting Nature in Canada, Building Canada Well, and Valuing Nature and Mobilizing Capital.

Key components of the strategy include increasing our protected areas network on land and water. Elements to do this will include expanding our parks network and restoring critical habitats for species at risk, as well as recognizing and expanding on working landscapes or other effective conservation measures. Federal programs have made historic progress in restoring forests and building greener communities across the country. A Force of Nature: Canada’s Strategy to Protect Nature will build upon current Government of Canada initiatives that contribute to our goals of reaching 30% of lands, waters, and oceans in Canada being protected by 2030.

Indigenous leadership is at the heart of protecting nature. Anchored in traditional knowledge and stewardship, it is critical to achieving our national and international commitments on nature. This new strategy will accelerate Canada’s progress toward protecting 30% of our lands and waters by 2030, restore critical habitats, strengthen ocean resilience, and mobilize new investments in nature while ensuring that conservation and economic development go hand in hand.

From Hazard to Resource: Rethinking Fly Ash from MSW Incinerators

Municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration plays a complex role in modern waste management systems. While incineration effectively reduces waste volume and enables energy recovery, it produces residues that pose ongoing environmental challenges.

Among these byproducts, fly ash, the fine particulate matter collected from flue gases, is a primary concern. Due to its high levels of soluble salts, heavy metals, and trace organic contaminants, fly ash is generally classified as hazardous waste

In Ontario, MSW incinerator fly ash has long been treated as a material requiring hazardous waste assessment and controls, and other jurisdictions (e.g., Québec, British Columbia, Saskatchewan) have explicit rules or official protocols governing the handling, testing, and disposal of fly ash and incineration residue.¹-⁴

Disposal costs for flyash can reach hundreds of dollars per tonne, depending on treatment and transportation.⁵ However, an increasing number of international regions are exploring alternative approaches in which fly ash is managed not only as a disposal issue but also as a potential resource.

Fly Ash Generation and Management in Canada

Canada burns a relatively small portion of its MSW. Across the country, approximately 3% of municipal waste is incinerated, with the rest sent to landfills. Nevertheless, some facilities operate on a significant scale. For example, Ontario’s Durham York Energy Centre processes up to 140,000 tonnes of residual waste annually after diversion.

Canada does not publish national data specifically on MSW incineration fly ash generation. However, international studies indicate that fly ash typically accounts for 3–5% of the mass of incinerated waste, depending on incinerator design and the air pollution control systems used. Even at the lower end of this range, a large facility can produce several thousand tonnes of fly ash each year.

In Canada fly ash management mainly focuses on safe isolation rather than material transformation. Fly ash often contains elevated levels of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), zinc (Zn), and copper (Cu), as well as highly soluble chlorides and sulphates. These components readily dissolve when exposed to water, which can cause leachate to surpass regulatory limits for metals and salts if the waste is landfilled without proper treatment. Consequently, untreated fly ash generally fails standard leachability tests.

In Ontario and similar regulatory systems across Canada, this results in mandatory hazardous waste disposal, effectively preventing reuse or beneficial use. While this method prioritizes environmental protection, it also involves high economic costs and long-term stewardship responsibilities.

Making Fly Ash Non-Hazardous

Several technologies have been developed to reduce the hazardous properties of fly ash. The most used method is solidification/stabilization (S/S). In this process, fly ash is combined with cementitious binders or similar materials to physically contain contaminants and chemically immobilize metals. Solidification/stabilization is appealing because it is relatively simple and cost-effective, but it increases the volume of material that needs to be disposed of and does not recover valuable components.

More advanced treatment methods involve high-temperature thermal processes, especially vitrification. Vitrification exposes fly ash to temperatures above approximately 1100 °C, creating a glass-like material in which metals are tightly bound within an amorphous matrix. Numerous studies show that vitrification can significantly reduce metal leachability and destroy organic pollutants such as dioxins and furans. The resulting slag can be reused as aggregate or construction material. However, the high capital and energy costs of thermal treatment limit its use in regions where landfill disposal remains relatively inexpensive.

A third category of treatment encompasses washing and extraction technologies. Simple water washing can remove a large fraction of soluble salts, particularly chlorides, which are a major driver of leaching behaviour. More advanced hydrometallurgical processes use acidic extraction to selectively dissolve metals.

Full-scale European systems such as FLUWA (FLue gas WAshing) and HALOSEP (HAlogens SEParation) integrate washing, chemical extraction, and stabilization steps. These systems operate at commercial scale in several European countries, including Switzerland, Denmark, and the Netherlands. By reducing leachability and enabling partial metal recovery, such approaches demonstrate that “hazardous” is not an inherent property of fly ash but one that depends strongly on how it is treated.

Fly Ash as a Product: International Experience

Outside Canada, fly ash is increasingly considered within a circular economy framework. In Europe, where landfill restrictions are stringent, several million tonnes of MSW incineration fly ash are produced annually, and long-term disposal is widely viewed as unsustainable. Following appropriate treatment, fly ash has been incorporated into construction materials such as cement, concrete, ceramics, and glass‑ceramics. Research and pilot projects show that treated fly ash can partially replace conventional raw materials without compromising mechanical performance, provided that leaching criteria are met.

Fly ash is also increasingly recognized as a secondary source of metals. Concentrations of zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), and critical or strategic elements like antimony (Sb) can be high enough to justify recovery. From this viewpoint, fly ash is similar to a low-grade ore produced within urban infrastructure. Extracting metals while neutralizing their hazardous properties aligns waste management with broader resource security and climate goals.

Implications for Ontario and Canada

Ontario’s automatic classification of fly ash as hazardous reflects legitimate environmental concerns, but it also constrains innovation. Experience from Europe and other international jurisdictions shows that, with appropriate treatment and performance-based standards, fly ash can meet non-hazardous criteria or be converted into usable products.

In the short term, improved stabilization or washing could reduce leaching sufficiently to allow disposal as non-hazardous waste, lowering costs. Over the longer term, integrating resource recovery into fly ash management could transform fly ash from a costly liability into a controlled secondary resource. Extending the regulatory conversation beyond Ontario to a broader Canadian and international context may help identify pathways that maintain environmental protection while enabling greater flexibility and innovation

PFAS exposure tied to weakened immunity, raising concerns over drinking water protection