A battle over jurisdictional authority continued to heat up Wednesday, as federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault insisted an element of Alberta’s pushback to Ottawa’s oil and gas emissions cap could land companies in hot water.
On Tuesday, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced an upcoming motion under the Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act to push back against federal draft regulations that would require oil and gas producers to limit greenhouse gas emissions by 35 per cent below 2019 levels.
The Alberta Sovereignty Act is intended to allow the province to declare federal laws as being unconstitutional or harmful, and to issue orders to provincial entities not to comply with federal rules.
As part of Tuesday’s motion, the province said it wanted emissions data regarded as proprietary information owned exclusively by the Government of Alberta, and would mandate all emissions data be reported and disclosed at the province’s direction.
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When asked by reporters Wednesday about the possibility of Alberta withholding its emissions data, Guilbeault cautioned companies against it.
“Companies already have to report to the federal government … in terms of their emissions. There are certain thresholds. If companies stop reporting to the federal government, they would be in violation of federal laws,” Guilbeault said.
“Something that I certainly wouldn’t advise to any large companies, especially oil and gas companies.”
Minister Guilbeault arrives Wednesday at a caucus meeting on Parliament Hill, where he discussed Alberta’s pushback to federal oil and gas rules. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
Guilbeault also said Alberta’s latest Sovereignty Act motion represented more “irresponsible” behaviour from Smith, whom he accused of refusing to recognize the threat posed by climate change.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Alberta Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz was asked about Guilbeault’s statement, and specifically the contention that the motion would ask companies to violate federal laws.
“I would say this. I read his statement. I can tell you that Minister Guilbeault is lying. He is lying, because he has to lie, because if he says anything else, he knows what we know, which is that his oil and gas production cap will be found unconstitutional when we challenge it in court,” Schulz said.
Smith said Tuesday the Alberta government was looking to gather and report a collective number for what the industry produces. From there, it could seek ways to offset the number in order to get to neutrality.
“What we don’t want is individual companies being fearful of expanding production because of an arbitrary and unachievable cap that the federal government is bringing in,” Smith said.
“That’s our approach … we firmly believe that the companies should look at this and thank us for being willing to protect them from federal government overreach.”
Jurisdictional standoff
Eric Adams, a professor and constitutional law expert at the University of Alberta, told CBC Radio’s Edmonton AM on Wednesday that there were a couple of hanging threads associated with provincial jurisdiction when it came to intervening in the sharing of emissions data.
“Can they pass an order that has the purpose of frustrating federal laws?” Adams said. “When you are a business in Alberta, when you’re a citizen in Alberta, of course it’s true you have to follow Alberta laws.”
But the laws of the Parliament of Canada, the Criminal Code, income tax laws and environmental legislation must also be followed, Adams noted.
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“They’re subject when we operate in Alberta to the laws of both jurisdictions. Can Alberta step in the middle and say, don’t follow that law? Give us the information instead and we’ll pass it along?” he said.
“Alberta thinks they have the power to do that. I wonder if that’s true, because at some fundamental level, I don’t believe it’s within the province’s jurisdiction to interfere in the operation of valid federal law.”
Ottawa has said it will continue to consult on the regulations until Jan. 8. The final version is intended to be published next year.