Alberta’s Sovereignty Bill Will Be Amended to Clarify Process, Says Premier Danielle Smith

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks at a press conference after members were sworn into cabinet in Edmonton on Oct. 24, 2022. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press)

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said amendments will be made to her province’s new sovereignty bill as it goes through the legislature process, amid criticism the bill wasn’t clear about how laws will be rewritten if required.

“The nature of the problem is that Alberta gets treated differently than the rest of the country. And Alberta gets treated differently, most specifically than Quebec,” Smith said.

“I almost fell off my chair when I had my courtesy call with Quebec Premier Francois Legault, and he told me ‘Oh, well, you know, we don’t have the same retail carbon taxes as you do because we have a cap-and-trade system and we’re treated differently.’ I don’t think that that’s constitutional,” said the premier, speaking on the weekly “Your Province, Your Premier.” radio show on Dec. 3.

“If there are things that are unclear about the legislation, I am absolutely open to having revisions and amendments to it, because like you never get things 100 percent right all the time.”

Bill 1, Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act, introduced Nov. 29, is “designed to be a constitutional shield to protect Albertans from unconstitutional federal laws and policies that harm our province’s economy, or violate Alberta’s provincial rights,” the government said at the time the bill was tabled.

Not About Separation

Smith, on the Dec. 3 radio show, said the bill is not about separation. “This has nothing to do with leaving the country. It has everything to do with asserting our sovereign rights.”

The premier also said that Bill 1 is not intended to give cabinet sweeping authority in addressing federal overreach, and that amendments are needed to make it clear that the cabinet cannot change law without the legislature voting on the matter first.

“It’s written in a way that suggests that we would be able to unilaterally change statutes. And we’re not able to do that. ... Governments can change regulations. We can do ministerial orders, we can do directives, we can make policy changes,” she said, adding that if there are any changes to statutes, it will have to come back to the legislature, and as such the government is working on amendments.

“There is some concern right now that [the bill] is written in a way that suggests that we [cabinet] would be able to unilaterally change statutes—and we’re not able to do that,” Smith said.

Ottawa Overreach

In a statement released to accompany introduction of the bill, the government said it plans to use the new act, if passed, to stand up to federal government overreach and interference in areas of provincial jurisdiction.

Smith said at the time that the act was devised to be “respectful of court decisions and indigenous and treaty rights.” She said the act “will not compel any private citizen or business to violate federal law, nor does this legislation involve anything related to separation from Canada.”

The government said in its statement that the bill would “defend Alberta’s interests by giving us a legal framework to fight federal laws or policies that negatively impact the province.”

Smith has asked her ministers to prepare proposals to be brought forward to the legislature during the spring sitting to assert Albertans’ rights in several areas that the province considers within its jurisdiction. These areas include firearms; energy; private property; agriculture; natural resources; regulation of the economy; and the delivery of health, education, and other social programs; along with COVID health-care decisions.

The government has stated that the act would only be triggered if Alberta’s legislative assembly debates and passes a resolution that identifies a specific federal program or piece of legislation that is of concern. The legislative assembly will consider both the proposed resolution and its recommended actions in its debates before voting.

In a clarifying statement issued Nov. 30, the government said, “In no way does the Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act permit cabinet to unilaterally amend legislation without those amendments being first authorized by the legislative assembly.”

In a dispute, the matter would be subject to both judicial review as well as review by the legislative assembly itself, according to the government.