“Largely unconstitutional.”
That’s what the Supreme Court has ruled about the Liberal government’s Impact Assessment Act, commonly known as Bill C-69, in their decision released today.
In other words, the Liberals imposed their Ottawa-knows-best approach on the provinces and got their hand slapped by the Court.
Conservatives warned the Liberals that their plans to steamroll provinces by giving themselves unprecedented power over provincial infrastructure, industry, and natural resources would hurt Canadian workers and was unconstitutional.
Nine provinces and every territory demanded amendments to the bill to address provincial jurisdiction concerns. The Liberals ignored them.
In fact, I challenged the Minister of Natural Resources on this point last year at the Natural Resources Committee. I asked him how he could possibly move forward with his agenda after the Alberta Court of Appeal initially ruled Bill C-69 unconstitutional.
He said: “It will be a different ruling at the Supreme Court, and we are appealing.”
His comments sure haven’t aged well.
A Conservative government will bring back investment and remove the gatekeepers so we can green light green projects, ensure Canadians can bring home powerful paycheques, and make traditional and alternative sources of energy affordable and accessible for all Canadians.