Alberta calls Ottawa's impact assessment changes 'unconstitutional'

The Alberta government says the recent changes to Ottawa's Impact Assessment Act are «unconstitutional» and it's considering challenging the legislation in court.

On Monday, Premier Danielle Smith and her ministers of justice and the environment released a joint statement calling the recent amendments an act of overreach by the federal government. The statement says the amendments as they stand put in-situ oilsands developments, major highways and power plants at risk of federal interference.

«Minister of environment and climate change Steven Guilbeault still has the ability to meddle in projects that are within provincial jurisdiction,» the statement says. «This is simply unacceptable and Alberta, when it comes to intra-provincial projects, will not recognize the as valid law.»

Alberta said Monday it completed its review of the proposed amendments, which were introduced in Parliament at the end of April through a massive budget implementation bill.

The amendments were required because in October, the Supreme Court ruled that some sections of the Impact Assessment Act were «unconstitutional.» Some parts of the law were found to fall within federal jurisdiction, but the court said other sections were too broad.

The Impact Assessment Act (IAA), Bill C-69, came into force in 2019. It allowed federal regulators to consider the potential environmental and social impacts of various resource and infrastructure projects.

Writing for the majority in a 5-2 decision, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Richard Wagner said the processes set forth in Sections 81 to 91 of the IAA were constitutional and could be separated out.

When the federal government first introduced the amendments, Alberta's Minister of Environment Rebecca Schulz