Feds 'not going to waste a lot of time' on Alberta sovereignty bill debate: LeBlanc
Feds 'not going to waste a lot of time' on Alberta sovereignty bill debate: LeBlanc
Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc says the federal government is taking a wait-and-see approach to whether it may intervene when it comes to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s sovereignty act, but that it is not the focus at the moment.
If adopted, the "Sovereignty within a United Canada Act" would give Smith’s cabinet the power to push back against federal policies and laws it deems “unconstitutional or harmful to Albertans,” such as firearms regulation and natural resources development.
The bill faced harsh criticism this week from constitutional experts, Alberta opposition MLAs, and business groups. Smith has said she is open to amendments to the bill, and is planning some changes to be debated next week.
In an interview with CTV’s Question Period with Joyce Napier airing Sunday, LeBlanc said the federal government is waiting to see what happens in the Alberta legislature instead of “wasting a great deal of time focused on this,” especially as it’s unclear how the bill may be amended before being adopted.
“We can look at legislation that's before the legislature of Alberta, but it has not yet become law,” he said. “And there are a number of elements that are sort of vague and imprecise.”
LeBlanc also said it’s unclear how the Alberta government might use the legislation if and when it passes, and there are several layers of hypotheticals involved, including how the Act may be applied in practice down the line.
“Even once it's adopted, it sort of sits on a shelf until a minister or the government decides to take a step under the legislation, and then there's a further legislative process, so it's far from clear how and where it would be triggered,” he said.
LeBlanc said the federal government is instead focusing on working with Alberta on other shared priorities, such as infrastructure projects, the fight against climate change, immigration and labour shortages, and housing issues.
“We're not going to waste a lot of our time, or frankly, impede our ability to work with the Alberta government on these other priorities, by getting bogged down in a theoretical debate,” LeBlanc said.
There are however a few options for the federal government should it choose to step in. This includes using disallowance — which would give the government the ability to invalidate the provincial bill — but the power hasn’t been used in more than 70 years, and LeBlanc said that move is not currently being considered.
“No, we're not looking at things like that now at all,” he said. “We’re interested in the debate in Alberta. That's a very, very premature hypothetical situation.”
“We don't think it's important to run around and pull the fire alarm and waste a great deal of energy on what is properly a debate before the Alberta legislature,” LeBlanc added.
Smith, who first announced her plans to introduce the sovereignty act during her bid to become leader of the United Conservative Party, has been touting the legislation as a way to reset Alberta’s relationship with Ottawa.
"In particular, a long and painful history of mistreatment and constitutional overreach from Canada has for decades caused tremendous frustration for Albertans,” Smith told reporters this week. “In response, we're finally telling the federal government: ‘no more’."
Smith later told Mike Le Couteur on CTV New Channel’s Power Play that Alberta is “asserting its sovereign jurisdiction,” and sending the message that “Ottawa stays in its own lane.”
But LeBlanc said pushback from provinces is normal and hardly a new phenomenon.
“It's always 13 against one,” he said. “So in the 13, you can always find one that for whatever political reasons in their own province or territory, decides that the government of Canada is responsible for a series of challenges in their province, some of it may be true, some of it may be exaggerated. It's not new. The federation is strong.”
“This isn't new, and it really doesn't worry us,” he also said. “We're focused on what we can do collaboratively, and will allow others to judge the Alberta government on its own legislative measures.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says federal health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos was right in saying there is 'still lots of work to do' before reaching a deal with the provinces for increased health-care funding, but that he's 'confident' that the two levels of government will get there.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sat down with CTV National News Chief News Anchor and Senior Editor Omar Sachedina for a year-end interview to reflect on the political shifts experienced in 2022, and to contemplate the challenges ahead in 2023. Here is a full transcript of the interview.
After six weeks, more than 70 witnesses, and the submission of more than 7,000 documents into evidence, the public hearing portion of the Public Order Emergency Commission wrapped up on Friday.
The federal government's fall economic update makes it clear that while the deficit is declining, the risk that Canada enters into a recession is rising.
Members of Parliament—many dressed in black—returned to Ottawa on Thursday to take part in a 'special session' commemorating Queen Elizabeth II and marking the accession to the throne of King Charles III. The House of Commons held this historic opportunity to allow MPs to pay tribute ahead of Monday's national commemorations.
Like Jacinda Ardern, Justin Trudeau’s early handling of the pandemic was a reassuring communications exercise where harsh isolation measures went down easier with a hefty helping of government support, Don Martin writes in an exclusive opinion column for CTVNews.ca. 'But like the New Zealand Prime Minister, the Canadian PM's best days are arguably behind him. '
The Standing Committee on Transport gathered Thursday with MPs demanding an explanation for how that highly unusual Canadian winter combination of heavy snow and cold temperatures which delayed or cancelled thousands of post-pandemic reunions. What they got was a gold-medal finger-pointing performance, writes Don Martin in an exclusive opinion column for CTVNews.ca.
From a more coherent public health and carbon tax position, to cutting the 'Freedom Convoy' connection and smiling more, Pierre Poilievre has seven New Year's resolutions to woo the voters in 2023, writes Don Martin in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca.
Hope was in short supply just ten weeks ago on this 10-kilometre spit of sand at the end of the migration route for tens of thousands of Canadian snowbirds, Don Martin writes in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca from Florida's Fort Myers Beach. But there are signs, he says, things may return to normal much faster than anyone expected.
In an unusual move, the Russian Defence Ministry broadcast that one of its newest warships, the Admiral Gorshkov, had tested the strike capabilities of a hypersonic Zircon missile in a virtual drill.
The federal Liberal government is joining the Opposition Conservatives in no longer allowing its members of Parliament to expense taxpayers for home internet services.
In an exclusive interview with CTV’s Power Play, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki is praising the moves from Western countries to send tanks to Ukraine.
On Feb. 27, 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country needed fighters, and foreigners were welcome to join the front line in the defence against Russian aggression. Some Canadians were among the first to answer the call.
Canada is sending four combat-ready battle tanks to Ukraine and will be deploying 'a number' of Canadian Armed Forces members to train Ukrainian soldiers on how to operate them.
Retailers and tech companies use many tools to mine consumers for data they can share with third parties, but there are steps consumers can take to protect and safeguard their personal information.
Following the deaths of more than 300 children from contaminated cough syrups in several countries, Health Canada says it's been more than a decade since similar cases were identified here.
Ottawa police and Bylaw Services are telling residents and visitors they will be taking a zero-tolerance approach to parking, noise and fireworks violations downtown this weekend, on the one-year anniversary of the 'Freedom Convoy' demonstration.
Fourteen months after Dave Martens' chicken barns on Abbotsford's Sumas Prairie were flooded, the repairs are almost complete and he finally has birds again. Now, he's trying to keep it that way.
A commemoration planned for Sunday to mark the sixth anniversary of the Quebec City mosque shooting will be held for the first time inside the prayer room where six men were killed.
In an exclusive interview with CTV’s Power Play, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki is praising the moves from Western countries to send tanks to Ukraine.
The independent body that oversees the safety of technical systems and equipment in British Columbia has found a deadly ammonia leak near Kamloops last May was a tragedy that took years to unfold.
Retailers and tech companies use many tools to mine consumers for data they can share with third parties, but there are steps consumers can take to protect and safeguard their personal information.
In an unusual move, the Russian Defence Ministry broadcast that one of its newest warships, the Admiral Gorshkov, had tested the strike capabilities of a hypersonic Zircon missile in a virtual drill.
U.S. President Joe Biden led a moment of silence at the White House on Thursday in honour of the victims of separate shootings that killed 11 people at a Southern California ballroom dance hall and and seven others at two mushroom farms in the northern part of the state.
The National Archives has asked former U.S. presidents and vice presidents to recheck their personal records for any classified documents following the news that President Joe Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence had such documents in their possession, two people familiar with the matter said Thursday.
Outraged rebel police officers paralyzed Port-au-Prince on Thursday, roaring through the streets on motorcycles in protest of a slew of killings of police officers by Haitian gangs.
U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday signed off on a two-year extension of a program that protects Hong Kong residents in the U.S. from deportation, renewing the protection until January 2025.
Canada is sending four combat-ready battle tanks to Ukraine and will be deploying 'a number' of Canadian Armed Forces members to train Ukrainian soldiers on how to operate them.
The CEO of Via Rail says that after a tree fell on a passenger train as it travelled on CN Rail tracks during the holidays, it took the freight company longer than hoped to clear it -- and passengers on board were stuck for 18 hours.
Liberal member of Parliament and former cabinet minister Kirsty Duncan has announced that she is taking an immediate medical leave due to a 'physical health challenge.'
New research indicates that head injuries are associated with two to three times higher mortality rates in adults, with neurodegenerative diseases more likely following instances of head trauma.
A chance discovery by an Edmonton area woman who was walking her dogs has turned out to be a massive fossilized bone that likely belonged to an Ice Age mammoth.
Sarah Del Seronde is a big believer in interrogating the word 'legacy,' particularly as it relates to her late husband, the filmmaker Jeff Barnaby. Before his death in October, the 46-year-old had an outsized influence on Indigenous storytelling -- and Seronde said that part of his work is ongoing.
Shares of BuzzFeed Inc. extended gains to more than double in value on Thursday on reports the digital media firm was planning to use artificial intelligence to personalize and enhance its online quizzes and content.
The federal privacy watchdog says Home Depot shared details from electronic receipts with Meta, which operates the Facebook social media platform, without the knowledge or consent of customers.
A landmark lawsuit by the U.S. Justice Department against Alphabet's Google over its dominance of advertising technology could help rivals and websites that sell ad space, but leaves an uncertain future for the advertisers themselves, experts told Reuters.
Elena Rybakina, a 23-year-old who represents Kazakhstan, reached her second final in a span of three major tournaments by beating Victoria Azarenka 7-6 (4), 6-3 at the Australian Open on Thursday, signalling a rapid rise toward the top of tennis.
The head of France's professional handball league resigned Wednesday after pleading guilty to child corruption and child pornography charges -- the country's latest sports scandal before it hosts next year's Paris Olympics.
The IOC made clear Wednesday it wants Russians to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics as neutral athletes, in defiance of Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy's call to exclude them entirely.
Tesla said it intends to invest US$3.6 billion to expand manufacturing capabilities in Nevada and is confident growing software-related profits, reflected in record net income reported Wednesday for the fourth quarter of last year, will keep margins higher than any other automaker.
Toyota set up a new leadership team Thursday in what the Japanese automaker said was a move to stay abreast of social changes like electrification and becoming a wider 'mobility company.'
