Premier Danielle Smith, Minister of Environment and Protected Areas Rebecca Schulz and Minister of Justice Mickey Amery issued the following statement on the federal government’s amendments to the Impact Assessment Act:
“Alberta has completed its review of the federal government’s recently tabled amendments to the Impact Assessment Act. Even with these amendments, the act is still unconstitutional.
“Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault still has the ability to meddle in projects that are within provincial jurisdiction.
“This will put projects like in-situ oil sands developments, major highways within our borders, and power plants at risk from federal interference. This is simply unacceptable and Alberta, when it comes to intra-provincial projects, will not recognize the Impact Assessment Act as valid law.
“The situation could have been avoided if, following Alberta’s Supreme Court victory, the federal government agreed to meaningfully consult with the province, rather than sending vague letters and blank templates. The federal government did not even inform Alberta when they were tabling these amendments in the House of Commons.
“This failure to work collaboratively with Alberta is a choice made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Minister Guilbeault.
“Choices have consequences. Alberta has won in court twice in the past year and we are ready to win again.”...
Read the full news release here
