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On Monday, November 27, 2023, Alberta’s legislature tabled a resolution to invoke its controversial Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act for the first time.

The Sovereignty Act purports to allow Alberta’s legislature to pass resolutions identifying specific federal legislation or policies as either unconstitutional or causing harm to Albertans. On that basis, the legislature can ostensibly authorize the executive to suspend or modify operation of the federal initiative as it applies to Alberta.

When passed last year, the Act was interpreted as an attempt to “pursue a more confrontational approach with Trudeau’s government on a range of issues deemed to be overreach in provincial areas of responsibility.” Climate legislation is one of those issues, having long been a point of contention between federal authorities looking to reduce national emissions and Alberta’s fossil-friendly conservative government.

The matter has been brought to a head by the federal draft Clean Electricity Regulations, issued in August 2023. The regulations aim to transition Canada’s electric grid to net zero emissions by 2035. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has strongly opposed this deadline, saying that it is “impossible for the province to meet without risking blackouts and high costs for consumers” - a risk commentators regard as “grossly exaggerated if not outright false.”

The Sovereignty Act motion pre-emptively “calls on cabinet to order all provincial entities to ignore” the regulations (notwithstanding that they remain in draft form). Smith’s gambit appears to be an attempt to pressure the federal government to push the net zero goal to 2050 – the fastest Smith claims Alberta could realistically achieve the target.

The operative provisions of the Sovereignty Act appear to be unconstitutional under Canadian law, as they would allow Alberta to pick and choose which federal laws and policies the province feels like following. However, it appears that, at least for the moment, this remains a practical non-issue. Canadian Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault has already said the federal government is taking Premier Smith at her word - that Alberta’s use of the Act is a “symbolic gesture” - and has no intention of issuing a legal challenge.

Guilbeault also regards Alberta’s action as having no real impact on federal grid decarbonization plans, given that the province’s energy companies are private entities bound by federal law in any case.

Premier Smith has threatened more than “symbolic” action if her demands are not met, such as launching a court challenge against the regulations. Another idea floated is the creation of a Crown electricity corporation subject to the Sovereignty Act. This latter suggestion has, however, been met with concern by Alberta’s private energy producers who express skepticism over whether the Act is “the right tool” to achieve the province’s stated objectives.

Please contact our firm at 647-725-4308 or info@greeneconomylaw.com for legal assistance in connection with Canadian environment and energy policy matters.