Alberta gov’t tables Sovereignty Act motion, challenges production cap
‘We're telling Ottawa to throw out this ill conceived activist fantasy and get behind Alberta's leadership … that cuts emissions without wrecking Canada's prosperity,’ Premier Danielle Smith says.
Danielle Smith has tabled her second sovereignty act motion as premier, countering federal intrusion on oil and gas production this time around.
“Ottawa seems to think that they need to save us from ourselves, but they are wrong because we're not just working with industry to continue to drive down emissions,” Smith told reporters on Tuesday.
On November 4, Ottawa released details of its oil and gas emissions cap, which is a de facto production cap. By 2032, the feds hope to cut oil and gas emissions by 35% to 38% from 2019 levels.
“We're telling Ottawa to throw out this ill conceived activist fantasy and get behind Alberta's leadership by investing in real technology that cuts emissions without wrecking Canada's prosperity” Smith said.
Premier Smith announces Alberta will use the Sovereignty Act to push back against the Trudeau Liberals' emissions cap. The motion will "shield" Alberta if the cap becomes law, and could see an "immediate constitutional challenge in the court," she says.https://t.co/dh39RL8IFZ pic.twitter.com/zZ2qmqaNiT
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) November 26, 2024
The sovereignty act motion will propose Alberta immediately launch a constitutional challenge if the emissions cap becomes law. It will also instruct the province to consider regulatory amendments that reinforce Alberta’s jurisdiction over energy facilities, related infrastructure, and data surrounding greenhouse gas emissions.
Additionally, the proposed motion reinforces penalties for those who contravene the Critical Infrastructure Defence Act, including significant fines and jail time.
A court challenge cannot take place until the federal bill passes Parliament. Meanwhile, the legality of the sovereignty act has not been tested in court yet.
“The Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act was designed to protect our province from unconstitutional interference. And now we're going to use it again,” Premier Smith said Tuesday.
Last December 1, the United Conservatives tabled its first Sovereignty Act motion, countering a federal transition to net-zero electricity by 2035. It remains to be seen whether the motion, which does not apply to private companies or people, will ultimately kibosh the policy.
"I'm pissed!": A fiery Premier Smith explains her anger with the Trudeau Liberals after Environment Minister @S_Guilbeault announced a production cap on oil and gas.
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) November 4, 2024
"That is not acceptable for a govt at 20% in the polls ... We just won't stand for it."https://t.co/PHR7jF0lJM pic.twitter.com/5Ypb26vu06
The Government of Alberta says legal disputes often take years to resolve. Yet, Smith and her cabinet are simply fed up with unilateral federal measures, reported the Calgary Herald.
“They want to bring through policies that are unachievable in the short term, which will result in a shut-in of our production, and we’re just simply not going to allow for that,” Smith said at a separate Monday press conference.
Last Friday, Alberta’s cabinet commenced legal action against the revised Impact Assessment Act, which the premier says is still unconstitutional.
“We would much rather cooperate with them for the sake of a cleaner environment and stronger, more prosperous nation,” the premier continued on Tuesday. “We could have both if they would just listen to reason and they've chosen their path.”
“We've chosen ours,” she clarified, “and the fight will continue for as long as it has to.”
Premier Smith says the Trudeau Liberals' "de facto" emissions cap on Alberta's oil and gas "amounts to an attack by the federal government on the economy of Alberta and the financial well being of millions of Albertans and Canadians."https://t.co/dh39RL8IFZ pic.twitter.com/mnwng2M9w1
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) December 7, 2023
Last December, Premier Smith first said the cap “violates Canada's constitution,” specifically section 92, which gives provinces exclusive jurisdiction over non-renewable natural resource development. The federal government previously lost two federal court cases in 2023, as Bill C-69 and the plastics ban intruded into provincial jurisdiction.
“I would ask them to read the court decisions again,” Smith said then. “You cannot drop two unilateral policies in our jurisdiction out of the blue without an agreement.”
“This is not cooperative federalism,” she added. “We'll defend Alberta's prosperity, Alberta's livelihood and our energy industry.”
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith talks Trudeau's attack on oil with Ezra Levant@EzraLevant sits down with @ABDanielleSmith for an exclusive interview, where he asked the premier about the Trudeau Liberals' attacks on Alberta's oil and gas sector.
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) March 25, 2024
I recently sat down with Alberta… pic.twitter.com/x6uO0Jw3Xt
Facilities covered by the cap would receive annual “allowances” they remit to the federal government, with one allowance received for every tonne of carbon pollution. As emissions decline over time, companies receive fewer allowances.
Only operators producing 365,000 barrels of oil a year, or more, will be eligible for allowances to reduce their emissions, reported the Globe and Mail.
Alberta already has a system in place that is working, the premier says, with emissions per barrel declining even as production and contribution to GDP grows.
Federal modelling shows even with the federal regulations, oil and gas production will rise 16% by 2032, compared with 2019 levels.
.@ABDanielleSmith slams the Trudeau Liberals' oil and gas production cap:
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) November 4, 2024
"Ultimately this cap will lead Alberta and our country into economic and societal decline....he needs to call an election now to seek a mandate to do this." https://t.co/PHR7jF0lJM pic.twitter.com/0pzEYPvQAc
“We've been very clear that we will use all means at our disposal to fight back against federal policies that hurt Alberta and that's exactly what we're doing,” she told reporters.
The Trudeau government will implement the final regulations next year, clarified Minister Guilbeault. The cap is expected to cut production by one million barrels a day by 2030.
Additional estimates indicate that 150,000 workers nationwide will lose their jobs and tens of billions of dollars will disappear from Canada's GDP, devastating the economy and public spending. “That includes a forecast 5% decline in revenue for Alberta by 2035,” Smith said.
Alex Dhaliwal
Calgary Based Journalist
Alex Dhaliwal is a Political Science graduate from the University of Calgary. He has actively written on relevant Canadian issues with several prominent interviews under his belt.
COMMENTS
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Bernhard Jatzeck commented 2024-11-27 20:19:43 -0500The Trudeau hatred for Alberta likely goes back to the 1972 election. In 1968, PET won a number of seats in western Canada, but many of those MPs were given the boot over 4 years later. PET perhaps took that as a personal affront and started punishing us after that. I’m sure that the deliberate scuttling of the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline was his first step in the NEP, though it wasn’t called that back then. If it hadn’t been for Joe Clark’s brief time as PM, that horrible policy might have been inflicted upon us about a year sooner than it was. -
Bruce Atchison commented 2024-11-27 19:58:45 -0500I believe no other province has experienced hatred from Trudeau like Alberta has. The fool figures he can rob us like his dad did and not get much of a reaction. We finally have a fighter who stands up for Albertans. More must be done to let us decide what we do with our resources.
