Law360 Canada (May 23, 2024, 12:58 PM EDT) -- Appeal by National Steel Car Ltd. from application judge’s conclusion that costs of the feed-in-tariff renewable electricity procurement program (“FIT Program”) were valid regulatory charges. The appellant, National Steel Car Ltd., argued that the application judge erred by finding that to establish colourability, the appellant had to show that the Government of Ontario had lied. The Minister of Energy issued a Directive to develop and administer the FIT Program. The Directive noted that the FIT Program was designed to procure energy from a wide range of renewable energy sources and was critical to Ontario's success in becoming a leading renewable energy jurisdiction. This change had a significant impact on the appellant. Its electricity bills substantially increased after the enactment of the Green Energy Act. Repeal of section 25.35 of the Electricity Act, which authorized the FIT Program, marked the end of the FIT Program. However, the contracts that had already been entered into continued until the end of their terms and their associated costs remained in the Global Adjustment. The appellant challenged the constitutionality of the FIT Program. It submitted that the FIT Program was a colourable attempt to tax through regulation contrary to the Constitution Act. The application judge concluded the FIT Programs did have a regulatory purpose associated with Ontario's electricity scheme. The application judge reasoned this was sufficient to dismiss the appellant's applications and went on to find that the FIT Program levy, as part of the Global Adjustment, was not a tax but a valid regulatory charge....