The premiers recognized the Alberta Court of Appeal’s ruling against Bill C-69 – the Impact Assessment Act – and ordered the acceleration of developing a mutual recognition of regulations model under the Canada Free Trade Agreement.
The premiers also agreed that Canada has an important role to play in providing environmentally responsible, reliable and affordable energy products to Canadians and the world.
“Alberta continues to play a strong leadership role on the national stage on the major issues facing the country. I am particularly pleased that we’ve reached consensus on the urgency of removing trade barriers, the necessity of getting more Canadian energy to global markets, and the paramount importance of provincial autonomy. Canada’s premiers are united on these critical issues.”
Key points in the final Council of the Federation communiqué:
- Premiers direct the Regulatory Reconciliation and Cooperation Table to accelerate work underway on developing a potential model for mutual recognition of regulations with a negative option list.
- A recent ruling by the Court of Appeal of Alberta found the federal Impact Assessment Act to be an unconstitutional intrusion into provincial jurisdiction. Premiers are concerned about ongoing federal intrusion into provincial and territorial jurisdiction.
- As one of the world’s largest and most responsible energy producers, Canada has an important role to play in providing environmentally responsible, reliable and affordable energy products to Canadians and the world.
- We must maintain and expand critical export infrastructure to the United States, which continues to be Canada’s No. 1 market, including securing the future of Line 5, expanding hydro exports and meeting global energy needs while respecting the will and jurisdiction of the provinces and territories to support our allies as they are actively making the transition away from Russian energy.