What we do

The Economic and Regulatory Affairs (ERA) Directorate is an Ottawa-based group within Environment Canada made-up of economists, some engineers and other social science experts. It was created in 1998 to consolidate and strengthen economic and policy analysis within the department. ERA focuses on three areas:

• incorporating environmental considerations into the development and implementation of federal economic policies;
• ensuring that economic considerations are factored into environmental regulations and policies;
• ensuring that regulatory policy and processes within the department are consistent with government-wide policies;

The directorate pursues these goals by providing policy and economic analysis, as well regulatory advice, for managers of environmental issues within Environment Canada. The goal is to support the development and implementation of strategic policies that will benefit Canadians by integrating considerations for the economy with the environment.

The work of the ERA touches on several areas including trade, fiscal and tax policy, and a variety of related economic instruments. On the policy front, the directorate contributes substantially to the development of federal climate change policy, which assesses the long-term impact of greenhouse gases; the development of Canada-Wide Standards for air and water pollutants, and the management of toxins in the environment.

The development of sound regulatory policy is another key role for ERA, and this is done through impact assessments of federal regulations and, more generally, by initiatives to reform federal regulatory policy. The ERA has also developed numerous analytical tools to support policy development. These tools, such as those that value the environment, help economists perform cost/benefit and other types of economy/environment impact analysis.

ERA is comprised of four branches:

• Environmental Economics Branch, (EEB)
• Regulatory and Economic Analysis Branch, (REAB)
• Climate Change Economics Branch, (CCEB)
• Trade and Environment Branch, (TEB)