Alberta and Ontario call for repeal of Trudeau era climate policies in letter

OTTAWA — The environment ministers of two of Canada’s biggest provinces are calling on the Liberal government to scrap a host of Trudeau-era environmental and climate policies, saying the policies are holding the country back from meeting its economic potential.

Alberta Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz and Ontario Environment Minister Todd McCarthy said in a letter to federal counterpart Julie Dabrusin that the new, Mark Carney-led Liberal government will need to ditch Justin Trudeau’s net-zero agenda if it hopes to meet its promise to make Canada an energy superpower.

“We are hopeful that (the Carney government) will move away from policies and legislation that undermine competitiveness, delay project development, and disproportionately harm certain (regions) without any quantifiable benefit to the natural environment,” read the letter.

“Canada is poised to become an economic superpower, but achieving that potential depends on strong, constitutionally grounded provincial authority over resource development and environmental management.”

Schulz shared a copy of the letter on social media on Wednesday, just as a two-day meeting between federal, provincial and territorial environment ministers kicked off in Yellowknife.

The letter calls for a repeal of the federal Impact Assessment Act, as well as a full repeal of the legislation authorizing the consumer carbon tax . Carney set the tax to zero shortly after becoming prime minister in March.

The recently passed Bill C-5 allows projects deemed by Ottawa to be in the national interest to bypass some parts of the federal impact assessment process.

Alberta has repeatedly called for this process to be either massively streamlined or eliminated altogether.

The letter also calls for Ottawa to cede more power to the provinces in the areas of clean electricity, carbon reduction and ecological protection.

“Provinces have proven to be the best stewards of such decisions, as leaders of electrification, industrial innovation, public transit and other low-carbon initiatives,” write Schulz and McCarthy.

The two environment ministers also called for the reversal of the incoming federal emissions cap and clean electricity regulations.

The letter also calls on Dabrusin to scale back federal endangered species legislation and refrain from re-introducing Bill C-61, or the First Nations Clean Water Act.

Heather Exner-Pirot, director of energy, natural resources and environment at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, says that Bill C-61, while well intentioned, is a clear example of federal overreach.

“In addition to First Nations lands, the bill seeks to regulate adjacent lands and source waters. These are things that clearly fall under provincial jurisdiction.” says Exner-Pirot.

Exner-Pirot also says the bill uses overly vague language in several sections.

Bill C-61 was drafted in response to a court settlement between Ottawa and multiple First Nations over drinking water advisories.

National Post

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