Weekly Newsletter – October 13, 2023 – Alberta is Back!

Breaking News – The Supreme Court of Canada ruled this morning that the Environmental Impact legislation is largely unconstitutional! This is significant news for Canada. Bill C-69 allowed federal regulators to consider the potential environmental and social impacts of various resource and infrastructure projects that historically fell under provincial jurisdiction. The province of Alberta had previously filed a constitutional challenge with the Alberta Court of Appeal – a decision that determined the new law was an existential threat to Canada’s Constitution.

For reference purposes, Bill C-69 was the Federal government’s path to replacing the National Energy Board Act with the Canadian Energy Regulator (CER) Act. Essentially, the new regulator had the power to regulate the exploitation, development, and transportation of energy within Parliament’s jurisdiction (generally between provinces or internationally). By doing so, the Federal Government took away the power from the provinces. Supposedly, it was to help streamline the process for large infrastructure projects (pipelines)! In reality, the process became a hindrance to business development.

The impact of today’s decision must be seen as a clear victory for the provinces, especially Alberta. For the past few years, any newly proposed project has been hamstrung. The federal government could block oilsands projects, pipelines, coal and natural gas facilities, nuclear plants, highways, along with numerous other projects indefinitely. The economic impact of slowing these large projects must be in the billions of dollars. Without large infrastructure projects, our economy will not grow, and we could become a black hole. In the Supreme Court’s ruling, the court found the “designated projects” portion of the Impact Assessment Act is unconstitutional for two overarching reasons – first, it found that the act is not directed at regulating effects within the federal jurisdiction as defined in the Act, because these effects do not drive the scheme’s decision-making. Second, the defined term “effects within federal jurisdiction” does not align with federal legislative jurisdiction.”

So, what does all this mean? The provinces and the corporations that are trying to develop large-scale projects should face fewer roadblocks, and the groups that are truly impacted by these projects should be able to collaborate to move them forward faster and more economically while protecting the environment and those immediately affected by such projects. I suggest that this decision is fabulous for Canada and should lead to greater economic prosperity. Foreign investment will move back, and our economy will grow again. Canada has seen its GDP per Capita slip to 20th in the world. If we can finally move large projects forward, this should improve, and our dollar should also improve on the world stage.