"With 2021 behind us, a number of new rules and regulations are set to take effect this year. Some of the changes include minimum wage hikes, plastic bag bans and soft drink taxes.
Below are just some of the new rules and regulations set to come into effect federally and provincially in 2022:
Ban on conversion therapy
Federal legislation banning conversion therapy received a royal assent on Dec. 8, but will not come into force until Jan. 7, 2022, 30 days after the bill became law.
The new law will make conversion therapy, a practice that seeks to change someone’s sexual orientation to heterosexual or their gender identity to cisgender, punishable by up to five years in prison. Anyone found to be promoting, advertising, or profiting from providing the practice could face up to two years in prison.
Ban on single-use plastics
A federal ban on single use plastics was promised by the end of 2021, but in November the government announced the ban would be delayed to sometime in 2022.
The ban includes six single-use plastic items, including checkout bags, cutlery and straws.
Photos courtesy Unsplash
End to fossil fuel financing
The federal government announced at COP26 this year that it would stop new direct public finance for coal, oil and gas development by the end of 2022 and shift that investment to renewable energy projects.
The United States, United Kingdom and 21 other nations also joined the pledge.
Changes to carbon tax refunds
Beginning in July, rebates issued to residents of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario, due to the increased costs of carbon pricing will be issued quarterly, instead of annually."