Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said premiers spoke at length about the Canadian government needing to respect provincial jurisdiction at the Council of the Federation meeting.Because of the lack of collaboration from the Canadian government, Houston said it “has resulted in missed opportunities, as we see federal programs that create duplicated processes.” “That risks pitting provinces and territories and really Canadians against one another,” said Houston at a Wednesday press conference at the Council of the Federation meeting in Halifax. “But really the big risk is not delivering on intended results.” At the moment, Houston said there is plenty the Canadian government can do to collaborate because the current situation is not in its best interests. He asked it to work with provinces as active partners when developing and executing federal programs. He thanked the premiers for their passion for their home provinces and residents. As he looks ahead, he said the discussions they had will benefit all Canadians. Houston followed up by saying the provincial and Canadian governments have common goals and can achieve more if they work together. “But there’s absolutely no question just like there are items kind of in our jurisdiction, there are items in the federal jurisdiction too,” he said. “When we see the federal government stopping an infrastructure program without a replacement and not working with the provinces on that, it kind of leaves a lurch.” When provinces look to the longer term at the Canadian government’s social programs, he asked what happens if it stops funding. He called for it to look to the long term when it partners with the provinces. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said the infrastructure program the Canadian government cancelled was valued at $33 billion over 10 years. “One of the best things about programs like that is we can match them and our municipalities can match them,” said Smith. “If they had created a new version of the Investing in Community Infrastructure Program, that would allow for potentially unlocking a hundred billion dollars in infrastructure.” If the Canadian government co-locates strategic infrastructure with economic projects, Smith said it can have a dual purpose. This means building the necessary infrastructure from an economic perspective and have it count towards North Atlantic Treaty Organization commitments. The Alberta government introduced legislation in April requiring provincial entities to obtain approval before entering, amending, extending or renewing agreements with the Canadian government because of recent jurisdictional battles it had waged. READ MORE: UPDATED: Alberta government tables bill to defend provincial priorities“It is not unreasonable for Alberta to demand fairness from Ottawa,” said Smith. “They have shown time and again that they will put ideology before practicality, which hurts Alberta families and our economy.”
