Alberta’s United Conservative government has invoked its controversial Sovereignty Act for the first time by introducing a resolution to push back against the federal government’s proposed Clean Electricity Regulations.
The resolution, tabled in the Alberta legislature Monday, instructs governments and provincial entities such as the Alberta Electric System Operator and the Alberta Utilities Commission to ignore the regulations when they come into force “to the extent legally permission.”
The resolution also raises the possibility of Alberta setting up a Crown corporation to protect the private sector companies that provide electricity in the province. If passed, the resolution would direct AESO, AUC and the Market Surveillance Administrator to consult with stakeholders on the feasibility of such a corporation.
The Clean Electricity Regulations, currently in draft form, lay out the rules for getting Canada’s electricity grid to net zero emissions by 2035.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says the deadline is impossible for the province to meet without risking blackouts and high costs for consumers.
The government says investors are afraid of proposing new power generation projects in light of the CER. The Crown corporation could commission new natural gas-fired plants, make deals for small-scale nuclear reactors or buy existing gas-fired plants.
At a news conference Monday, Smith said a provincial Crown corporation would encourage private sector companies to keep investing, but it would be a generator of last resort.
“I cannot give direction to a private sector company to defy the law,” she said.
“But if we operate a Crown corporation, we will do it on the basis that we’re only stepping in so that we can make sure that we preserve power.”
Smith said a resolution passed by the legislature would help the province if the matter goes to court. But she also hopes it compels the federal government to avoid a legal battle by abandoning the 2035 net zero goal.
“Why don’t we just work together on a 2050 target?” she asked.
“I’m hoping that they now understand that we’re serious, that we are going to preserve the integrity of our power grid in whatever way we need to, so that we can get back to the table and talk about the ways in which we can agree.”
Alberta premier hopes federal government ‘backs down’ after using Sovereignty Act
Featured Video‘We are going to preserve the integrity of our power grid in whatever way we need to,’ Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said about her government’s use of the Sovereignty Act to push back against the federal government’s proposed Clean Electricity Regulations.
Smith publicly proposed the Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act when she was running for the leadership of the UCP in summer 2022.
Under the law, the legislature can pass motions that outline why and how the province will not enforce federal legislation deemed not to be in Alberta’s interests.
The idea appealed to UCP members who believed Smith’s predecessor, Jason Kenney, wasn’t tough when dealing with the federal government. Smith won the leadership in October 2022. The act was tabled and passed in the legislature in her first sitting as premier.
The resolution introduced Monday will likely pass since Smith’s United Conservative Party holds the majority of seats in the Alberta legislature.
Feds say they’re on solid ground
Steven Guilbeault, the federal minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada, said the potential use of the Sovereignty Act never came up in months of meetings between federal and provincial officials as part of a working group on the CER and the oil and gas emissions cap.
He said the federal government will continue meeting with stakeholders on the draft regulations.
“There is no legal basis for what Alberta is doing ,” Guilbeault told reporters on Parliament Hill.
“We feel that we’re on very solid ground and the fact that we already have some provinces who are on board with us, as well as a number of private companies and investors who say that this is the way to the future. We will continue working on this.”
Rachel Notley, leader of the Official Opposition NDP, said her caucus will oppose the resolution.
“The so-called Sovereignty Act is an illegal stunt. Unfortunately, it is a stunt with real world consequences,” Notley said.
“It undermines investment certainty. It challenges our respect for the rule of law. It breaches treaty rights all over Canada, but especially here in Alberta, and it declares to the world that we just don’t care about tackling climate change.”
Legal experts said different aspects of the resolution jumped out at them.
Gerard Kennedy, an assistant professor of law at the University of Alberta, said Smith’s resolution is premature since the regulations aren’t in force yet.
“It’s a symbolic step,” he said. “I think this is neither necessary nor sufficient to fight the federal regulations which we haven’t even seen yet.”
Andrew Leach, a professor of economics and law at the University of Alberta, said the section that directs the provincial entities, like AESO, to consider the federal regulations invalid will be a problem.
“They’re not planning our electricity system around meeting those more aggressive climate targets, which then in turn, makes them less easy to meet if we don’t have the electricity system infrastructure planned accordingly,” he said.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
