'C-69 was governmental gangsterism but Supreme Court decision bodes well for Sovereignty Act'
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Summary
Supreme Court of Canada rules that the federal government cannot interfere in the province s ability to manage its own energy resources. Prime Minister Rachel Notley says the ruling is a victory for the provinces, First Nations, business, NGOs, and Canadians across the country who made their voices heard.
Transcript
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If you believe in fairness, common sense, and the sanctity of the Canadian Constitution,
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We are extremely pleased with the Supreme Court of Canada's decision confirming the
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unconstitutionality of the federal government's Destructive Impact Assessment Act.
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This legislation, also known as the No More Pipelines Act, but I've been calling it the
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Don't Build Anything Anywhere Act, is an existential threat to Alberta's economy.
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It is already responsible for the loss of tens of billions of dollars in investment and
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thousands of jobs across the country in many economic sectors.
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Today's ruling represents an opportunity for all provinces to stop that bleeding, rebuild
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investor confidence, and attract those jobs back into our economies.
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And today, I am pleased to say that Alberta is once again open for business.
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The Court ruled that the Act and regulations are unconstitutional and reaffirmed.
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That the primary jurisdiction of non-renewable natural resource development is the sole
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And the Court also ruled that they do not apply to activities that primarily fall under
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provincial jurisdiction, including conventional oil and gas, oil sands, hard rock mining, and
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other similar non-renewable resource development.
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These are substantial wins for the protection of provincial rights in our Constitution.
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The legislation gives the federal government almost unlimited power to intervene in the
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approval of virtually any major project or in any part of the country and for any reason.
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Six other provinces, as well as First Nations, who joined as interveners, NGOs, and Canadians
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from across the country who made their voices heard.
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And today, so does the Supreme Court of Canada.
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And we will continue to fight against Ottawa's unfair overreach that continues with their
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uninformed and unrealistic electricity regulations and oil and gas emissions cap.
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They will damage our economy, they will stifle development, they will erode constitutional
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rights, and they will ultimately harm all Canadians by putting jobs at risk and making
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Alberta will simply not accept, being handcuffed by Ottawa's unfair overreach with another blatant
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attempt to erode and emasculate the rights of constitutional authority of the provinces
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Today's decision significantly strengthens our legal position as we work to protect Albertans
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and all Canadians from federal intrusion into our provincial jurisdiction.
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And we will continue partnering with willing provinces, First Nations, and other allies in
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fighting unconstitutional federal overreach using any and all legal means available to
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And this includes potentially introducing a motion under Alberta's sovereignty within the
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I would like to thank the provinces, First Nations, business groups, NGOs, and others who stood
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I would also like to thank former Premier Jason Kenney, who tirelessly fought back against
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I hope that Ottawa will learn from this mistake.
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Now, today, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Stephen Gibault, the Minister of Energy
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and Natural Resources, Jonathan Wilkinson, responded to this historic decision, upholding the
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rights of provinces to develop their resources.
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They confirmed their plans to bring legislation back to Parliament to amend it.
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Gibault does not seem to acknowledge how badly he lost.
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President Wilkinson, I heard him say that he hopes that this is the last time that we
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They need to drop their clean electricity regulations and they need to drop their emissions cap.
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That will be the way that we can assure that we can come to the table and work together.
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The entire reason we ended up in the Supreme Court was because the federal government acted
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They ignored the many partners who have opposed this unconstitutional law all along and creating
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the uncertainty that led to the withdrawal of projects like Tech's Frontier Mine that would
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have brought $20.6 billion in investment and thousands of jobs across the country.
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It is time for Ottawa to stop legislating in provincial jurisdiction and work with us on
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And that's why we call on the federal government to learn from the Supreme Court's decision
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that their ongoing efforts to seize regulatory control over the electricity grid and natural
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resource sectors of the provinces is unconstitutional and it's illegal.
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They do not have the right to thwart the economy, livelihoods, and future of any Albertans
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Instead, we once again invite them to come back to the table in good faith and work with
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Alberta to align our mutual efforts on 2050 reduction targets for emissions and the development
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of our electricity grid and our world-class energy sector to make life better for all Albertans.
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We hope today's decision provides an opportunity for a reset in the ongoing federal-provincial
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discussions on these issues because today we celebrate this important decision and we
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will continue protecting our constitution, responsibly managing our resources, protecting
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the environment, and making life better for all Albertans and indeed for all Canadians.