Danielle Smith says she is prepared to “clean up” her first ever bill as Alberta’s new premier after the proposed legislation was met with widespread criticism from opposition MPs and constitutional experts.
The Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act, if passed into law, would give Smith’s cabinet broad powers not only to decide which federal laws, programs, policies and initiatives infringe on Alberta’s jurisdiction, but also to establish institutions in ordering the province not to enforce it. , and let the cabinet amend legislation passed in the legislature.
“People have raised some concerns,” Smith said in an interview with The Western Bloc’s Mercedes Stephenson, aired Sunday.
“We are looking at it. If we have to clean up some things, then we will.”
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Smith rejects accusations that her Alberta sovereignty bill is an undemocratic power grab
In the event that Smith’s cabinet determines that the federal government has encroached on Alberta’s jurisdiction, the bill would grant her cabinet broad powers — those normally reserved for public emergencies — to address the concern.
Those powers include the ability to rewrite bills and order county agencies, municipalities, school boards, health districts or municipal police forces not to enforce federal laws.
Before the cabinet can deploy these extraordinary powers, the Alberta legislature will have to pass a special resolution spelling out the nature of the federal damages and the recommended remedies. That, Smith said, would hold the cabinet accountable.
However, the bill does not stipulate that the cabinet must follow the specific instruction of the legislator. Instead, it says the cabinet “should consider” using the remedies spelled out in the resolution.
As for the extraordinary measures, the bill says the cabinet is free to carry out whatever it deems “necessary or advisable” to deal with the threat.
Smith indicated that she would consider addressing this concern during her interview with Stephenson.
“It is quite understood that the cabinet has the ability to make ministerial orders to make changes in regulations … to make directives, to make changes in policy,” she said.
“I think we just have to be very clear that any statutory change has to go back to the legislature. That was always the intention. If it’s not clear, I might just have to make a few edits to make sure it’s underlined.”
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Martin Olszynski, an associate professor of law at the University of Calgary, said Wednesday that the most troubling part of the proposed bill is “that the premier wants us to believe that her democratic accountability here in Alberta has to succeed in her fight with to pass Ottawa.”
Olszynski said the premier needs to properly explain to Albertans why giving this kind of power to cabinet and ministers is justified.
“It seems to limit the ways in which we can hold this government accountable, either through the democratic process or through the courts,” he said.
“It’s not clear; no one explained (it) to us. If it (is) as constitutional as the prime minister says it is and if it is about fighting Ottawa, why should she protect her actions from the normal scrutiny to which they must be subjected by our courts and by our legislatures?”
When pressed on expert concerns about the constitutionality of the proposed legislation, Smith told Stephenson she “can point to several that say it is absolutely constitutional.”
Her hope with this legislation, Smith explained, is to put the onus on the federal government to prove the constitutionality of its policies in court.
Smith said the bill, if passed into law, could be used to push back environmental policies the federal government is already pushing for, such as a price on carbon — a policy the Supreme Court of Canada found last year has been constitutional – and newer regulations on fertilizers.
“We acted like a subordinate level of government to Ottawa. Just because Ottawa introduces something doesn’t mean they have the right to do it,” Smith said.
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Alberta “tried to be a constructive partner,” she added, “and it didn’t work.”
“So we have to try something else, and that’s what the sovereignty law is all about,” Smith said.
“If Ottawa wants to have a constructive relationship with our province — and I want a constructive relationship with Ottawa — they need to stay in their own lane and they need to allow us the jurisdiction that we’re entitled to, to make sure that we can make our own decisions.”
– with files from Global News’ Emily Mertz, The Canadian Press
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
