By Canadian Press

Experts weigh impact from Supreme Court ruling on other federal environmental moves

Oct 16, 2023 | 12:57 PM

Many legal experts say a Supreme Court ruling that found much of Ottawa’s environmental assessment law unconstitutional will have no impact on other federal moves, such as clean electricity regulations or oilsands emissions caps. 

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and other political leaders have said Friday’s decision means Ottawa has no right to regulate the greenhouse-gas emissions from power generation or oilsands mining. 

Those moves, however, are based on the federal government’s power over criminal law.

University of Ottawa law professor Stewart Elgie points out even the provinces acknowledge that Ottawa could use that power to rein in climate change-causing gases.

But Brett Carlson, a lawyer who has worked on those issues and argued against the environmental assessment bill, says those legal precedents could be open to question if the Liberal government uses them to justify other measures. 

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Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault has said the legislation the Supreme Court ruled against can be fixed by rewriting a few sections.   

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct .16, 2023.  

The Canadian Press