Alberta Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz is hailing a federal court decision to strike down Ottawa’s ban on single use plastics as yet another victory for constitutional authority.It comes after the Federal court on Thursday sided with Alberta and Saskatchewan and found listing plastics as a toxic substance is “both unreasonable and unconstitutional.”“A little over a year ago, Alberta intervened with the Federal Court to argue the federal government’s decision to unilaterally label plastic as a ‘toxic substance’ is an unconstitutional intrusion into provincial jurisdiction and a threat to our economy,” she said.“The court also reminded the federal government that ‘cooperative federalism recognizes that the provincial government and federal government are coordinate. The provinces are not subordinate to the federal government. A federal head of power cannot be given a scope that would eviscerate a provincial legislative competence.’".Although it was argued as a ‘waste management‘ issue — which is a provincial jurisdiction — Alberta is home to the country’s largest petrochemicals sector. Schulz claimed Ottawa’s punitive ban “needlessly put in jeopardy” some $18 billion in proposed projects.It comes barely a month after the Supreme Court of Canada overturned Bill C-69, the so-called ‘no more pipelines act‘ in what was hailed as a major win for Alberta on resource development.Although her federal counterparts say they don’t want to negotiate environmental disputes in the courts, both Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson and Environment’s Steven Guilbeault have vowed to tweak C-69 to bring it line with the court.Schulz urged them not to appeal this decision as well.“It’s time for the federal government to listen to the courts and to Canadians. We urge them to not appeal this decision, and to immediately delete ‘plastic manufactured items’ from Schedule 1 of the current Canadian Environmental Protection Act so as to avoid further need of legal action by Alberta and other provinces,” she said.“This latest decision comes on the heels of the Supreme Court of Canada decision confirming the unconstitutionality of the federal government’s destructive Impact Assessment Act, formerly known as Bill C-69, and demonstrates a continued pattern of federal overreach intended to subvert the constitutionally protected role and rights of provinces using the criminal head of power.“Like Bill C-69, the federal government’s decision to unilaterally label perfectly safe plastic consumer products as ‘toxic’ has had wide-ranging consequences for Alberta’s economic interests and has put thousands of jobs and billions of investments at risk..For his part, that’s exactly would Guilbeault said his department would do: appeal.”The Government of Canada is carefully reviewing the Federal Court judgement and are strongly considering an appeal.”
Alberta Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz is hailing a federal court decision to strike down Ottawa’s ban on single use plastics as yet another victory for constitutional authority.It comes after the Federal court on Thursday sided with Alberta and Saskatchewan and found listing plastics as a toxic substance is “both unreasonable and unconstitutional.”“A little over a year ago, Alberta intervened with the Federal Court to argue the federal government’s decision to unilaterally label plastic as a ‘toxic substance’ is an unconstitutional intrusion into provincial jurisdiction and a threat to our economy,” she said.“The court also reminded the federal government that ‘cooperative federalism recognizes that the provincial government and federal government are coordinate. The provinces are not subordinate to the federal government. A federal head of power cannot be given a scope that would eviscerate a provincial legislative competence.’".Although it was argued as a ‘waste management‘ issue — which is a provincial jurisdiction — Alberta is home to the country’s largest petrochemicals sector. Schulz claimed Ottawa’s punitive ban “needlessly put in jeopardy” some $18 billion in proposed projects.It comes barely a month after the Supreme Court of Canada overturned Bill C-69, the so-called ‘no more pipelines act‘ in what was hailed as a major win for Alberta on resource development.Although her federal counterparts say they don’t want to negotiate environmental disputes in the courts, both Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson and Environment’s Steven Guilbeault have vowed to tweak C-69 to bring it line with the court.Schulz urged them not to appeal this decision as well.“It’s time for the federal government to listen to the courts and to Canadians. We urge them to not appeal this decision, and to immediately delete ‘plastic manufactured items’ from Schedule 1 of the current Canadian Environmental Protection Act so as to avoid further need of legal action by Alberta and other provinces,” she said.“This latest decision comes on the heels of the Supreme Court of Canada decision confirming the unconstitutionality of the federal government’s destructive Impact Assessment Act, formerly known as Bill C-69, and demonstrates a continued pattern of federal overreach intended to subvert the constitutionally protected role and rights of provinces using the criminal head of power.“Like Bill C-69, the federal government’s decision to unilaterally label perfectly safe plastic consumer products as ‘toxic’ has had wide-ranging consequences for Alberta’s economic interests and has put thousands of jobs and billions of investments at risk..For his part, that’s exactly would Guilbeault said his department would do: appeal.”The Government of Canada is carefully reviewing the Federal Court judgement and are strongly considering an appeal.”
