Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says her government is considering a series of measures to challenge the proposed federal greenhouse gas emissions cap.
Announcing an upcoming motion Tuesday under his Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act, Smith said the government plans to challenge the cap in court when it becomes law, and will take steps to grant the province exclusive authority and ownership. emissions data, prohibiting federal employees from accessing designated oil and gas facilities, and more.
“We have been very clear that we will use every means at our disposal to fight federal policies that harm Alberta, and that is exactly what we are doing,” he said.
Under sovereignty law, the government must first introduce a motion in the legislature identifying a federal issue at issue and outlining possible steps the government should take to overcome it.
Once the motion passes the assembly, the law stipulates that Smith’s cabinet will determine the legality of the chosen measures before taking action.
Smith said other measures the government will consider in response to the cap include ordering provincial authorities, such as the Alberta Energy Regulator, not to enforce it; declare Alberta-owned oil and gas facilities “interest holders” as essential infrastructure; and bolster the government’s ability to sell oil and gas on behalf of the industry.
“We are asserting our ownership of our oil and gas resources,” Smith told reporters, adding that he hopes oil and gas companies will support the measures being considered.
The proposed federal emissions cap, which is still in draft, would require oil and gas companies to reduce emissions by 35 percent by 2030 to 2032.
Smith called the cap unconstitutional and on Tuesday said it would cripple Alberta’s oil and gas economy.
She also said the cap would lead to a drop in production on the order of one million barrels per day, which she said would lead to a five per cent loss in royalty revenue for Alberta.
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In a joint statement, federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault and Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson disputed Smith’s claims, saying they believe the emissions cap is constitutional and would not lead to a production cut.
“The pollution limit will prompt the industry to invest record profits in the sector, helping to drive Canadian-made clean technologies and creating jobs in the process,” the statement read. “Production and employment will increase with this policy while pollution decreases; that is beneficial for everyone.”
Guilbeault and Wilkinson also said Smith is “manipulating and politicizing” emissions reporting.
Eric Adams, a professor and constitutional law expert at the University of Alberta, said in an interview that this attempt to use sovereignty law seems “more forceful” than the motion the government proposed almost a year ago in response to the grid project. of the federal government. -Grid-zero goals, although the law has not yet been tested in court.
“This is not simply a matter of declaring that a particular federal law is unconstitutional from the point of view of the Alberta legislature,” Adams said of Smith’s announcement Tuesday.
He said some of the measures outlined by Smith probably wouldn’t hold up in court, such as banning federal agents from entering oil and gas facilities. However, he said the provincial government has an argument for the limit encroaching on provincial jurisdiction.
“There are arguments on both sides,” Adams said, explaining that the province would likely argue jurisdictional points, while the federal government would respond that criminal legislation like the one proposed under the emissions cap is within its authority.
NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi called the evocation of the sovereignty law performative, although he agreed the federal emissions cap would be detrimental to Alberta.
“It’s not a good policy for Alberta,” he said, adding that he thought Alberta could have done more to work with the federal government to find a better solution.
“We would never have gotten to this point if Alberta hadn’t been such a reluctant partner in addressing this issue,” Nenshi said.
Smith did not say when the motion would be brought before the legislature.
Finalized regulations from the federal government are expected to be released next spring.
© 2024 The Canadian Press
