EYES APRIL BIODIESEL START DATE

The association is targeting April 1 as the implementation date for the biodiesel mandate even though the government hasn’t revealed a timetable yet.

“We are certainly working with the dates that we have put in our report card and are optimistic that the government is going to move forward with their commitment,” Quaiattini said.

Asked if the recent resignation of Canada’s environment minister might throw a wrench in the timing, Quaiattini said:

“Certainly I think ministers leaving and new ones coming in does have an impact. But again I think this government has shown its leadership on the renewable fuels file since Day 1.”

A permanent appointment has not yet been named to replace Jim Prentice, who unexpectedly quit his cabinet post earlier this month to join a Canadian bank.

Quaiattini declined to speculate on a timetable for the higher renewable fuel standards the industry is asking for but said they should be in place much more quickly than the first batch. The initial mandates involved more than a “decade-worth of discussion,” including four years to put them in place once the government committed to biofuels in 2006.

“We expect to do it at a pace much quicker than the first build-out. We now have the policy and regulatory framework in place. We don’t need to duplicate that going forward,” he said.