Premier Daniel Smith said Thursday that the Alberta government has filed and proposed about 14 legal challenges against the federal government alleging constitutional overreach.
Mr Smith appeared virtually on Thursday morning before a federal parliamentary committee where he was invited to explain his opposition to the federal carbon tax, and his government announced a number of ongoing legal challenges to the federal Liberal government. He said it shows the degree of federal government interference.
“This just goes to show how often we think the federal government violates the spirit of the Constitution,” Smith told reporters at an unrelated news conference afterward.
Justice Minister Mickey Amery’s office later provided a list of 12 ongoing judicial reviews.
Smith said at the press conference that the province is also analyzing whether the Supreme Court of Canada’s ruling on the federal carbon tax can be re-litigated after the Alberta government exempted household heating oil.
Smith also said the federal government’s proposed cap on greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and gas industry is ripe for court challenge.
Smith said the Alberta government will continue to resist the federal plastics ban. The federal government is appealing a court decision that struck down an order declaring plastics a toxic substance.
Later, heading to parliament, Amery told reporters that Alberta had also intervened in the conflict between the Ontario government and Ottawa. The federal government had said the controversial Impact Assessment Act environmental assessment should apply to the proposed Highway 413 in the northern and western Toronto metropolitan areas.
Amery said six judicial reviews are underway in Alberta related to the federal firearms ban. and four judicial reviews related to the federal government’s application of emergency laws during protests against pandemic restrictions in 2022.
“It’s not a perception,” Amery said. “We know that the federal government’s overreach into Alberta’s jurisdiction is a long-standing and ongoing problem.”
Amery indicated the state is considering further legal and policy measures, but said the details are confidential.
WATCH: Daniel Smith says carbon tax is ‘reckless, immoral’ and ‘inhumane’:
March 28, 2024 – Alberta Premier Daniel Smith told a House of Commons committee Thursday that a carbon tax is “reckless, immoral” and “inhumane.” We asked her about the state’s plan to meet her emissions goals. Also responding is Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson.
“It will be obvious to everyone soon,” he said.
Eric Adams, a constitutional law professor at the University of Alberta, said some provincial and territorial governments are more willing than others to try jurisdiction disputes in court.
He said it would be better for a court to decide whether a law or action is constitutional than for politicians to claim it is unconstitutional without providing evidence.
He said Albertans need to decide whether the fight is a good use of public funds because sometimes lengthy legal battles are costly.
Amery said most cases are managed by lawyers employed by the state government, but some of the more niche legal contracts are outsourced.
In its 2024-25 budget estimates, the Alberta government proposes spending $61.7 million next year on the Department of Justice’s civil law division, which handles such cases. That’s $4 million more than this year’s service budget and about $11 million more than the government estimated it would have spent this year.
Adams said some governments may perceive jumping into court as a win-win situation, including intervening in other states’ disputes. If they win in court, that victory is a political bludgeon, and if they lose, their political supporters will perceive them to be taking action regardless.
“That in itself is evidence to support your harsh statements,” Adams said.
NDP judicial critic Irfan Sabir said Mr. Smith and his government are supporting an overburdened health care system, schools in dire need of additional buildings and staff, and people struggling to pay rent and bills. He said more time and energy should be spent on resolving issues within the jurisdiction.
“Most of the time, their arguments may work on their grounds, but when it goes to court? I don’t think they can hold up,” he said.
