Nothing off the table when it comes to Alberta sovereignty act: PM Trudeau
Nothing off the table when it comes to Alberta sovereignty act: PM Trudeau
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says that while he's "not looking for a fight" with Alberta, the federal government is not taking anything off the table when it comes to how it may respond to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's new 'sovereignty act.'
"We know that the exceptional powers that the premier is choosing to give the Alberta government in bypassing the Alberta legislature, is causing a lot of eyebrows to raise in Alberta," Trudeau told reporters on his way into a Liberal caucus meeting on Wednesday.
"We're going to see how this plays out. I'm not going to take anything off the table, but I'm also not looking for a fight. We want to continue to be there to deliver for Albertans," Trudeau said.
On Tuesday, Smith introduced the 'Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act' in the legislature, proposing to give her cabinet new powers to rewrite provincial laws without passing legislation to do so, while trying to reassure Albertans that it has nothing to do with leaving the country.
"A long and painful history of mistreatment and constitutional overreach from Ottawa has for decades caused tremendous frustration for Albertans," Smith told reporters. "In response, we're finally telling the federal government: 'No more.' It's time to stand up for Alberta."
The provincial bill still has a ways to go before it could become law, but should it come to pass, the act would allow any cabinet minister, including the premier, to identify federal initiatives and legislation that are deemed unconstitutional or "harmful to Albertans" and introduce a motion in the legislature to invoke it.
While the Alberta government has indicated some degree of confidence that its legislation would survive a court challenge, the provincial government has vowed to continue to respect court rulings, something that was not clear when Smith initially proposed a 'sovereignty act.'
"Obviously, we're going to look at this very, very closely and think about the implications," Trudeau said. "But we're already seeing a number of Albertans expressing real concern… These are things that obviously are going to play out over the coming weeks and months."
Introducing this legislation early in her tenure was a key commitment in Smith's leadership bid to replace former Alberta premier Jason Kenney, who resigned his seat in the legislature on Tuesday after expressing strong concerns that the proposal was a "full-frontal attack on the rule of law," that could lead to the province becoming a "banana republic."
A Wednesday statement from the Alberta government sought to downplay “the extent to which the act will authorize cabinet to amend legislation,” by trying to point to how any future amendments to existing legislation would only be possible after debate and a vote. However, that process is less comprehensive than the process for moving through legislation.
“The rationale for this process is simply to allow the legislative assembly a tool to act swiftly and efficiently in protecting Albertans from federal initiatives that violate the constitutional or charter rights of Albertans or which otherwise harm the interests of Albertans,” said Ethan Lecavalier-Kidney, press secretary to the Alberta Minister of Justice, in a statement.
Asked about Alberta's efforts to clarify, Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notely said that Smith and her government are "either being incredibly incompetent, or intentionally misleading."
"The very feature of them conducting themselves that way adds yet more uncertainty to the most undemocratic bill we have seen in Alberta's history, on top of a bill that just even in principle is going to significantly jeopardize our economic growth, and our economic stability," Notley said in an interview on CTV News Channel's Power Play. "So we're very concerned about this bill. And the more people see of it, the more worried they are."
Ahead of the legislation being tabled, federal Liberal cabinet ministers— including Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc— largely seemed to be keeping their powder dry. LeBlanc told reporters on Tuesday that while some of what was said about the bill during the provincial leadership race indicated the act would lean into federal jurisdiction, he was waiting to see what the legislation actually contained.
Now that he's had a closer look, speaking with reporters following a Wednesday morning Liberal caucus meeting, LeBlanc said "a great number of what-ifs" remains, as the bill moves through the provincial legislature where it's already facing opposition.
"Before people start talking about challenging laws, I'm not even sure it's constitutional to challenge a law that hasn't been passed. So, I think the whole thing may be hypothetical. In fact I don't think… I went to that course in law school,' LeBlanc said. "We're not rushing around as I said yesterday, looking to pull fire alarms or create squabbles. We're looking to work collaboratively… The Alberta government is entitled to present whatever legislation it wants before the legislature of Alberta. I assume that it will be debated, and ultimately voted upon. And our government will decide at that point if it's something that we want to take up."
Similarly, Quebec Liberal MP Anthony Housefather said while he's waiting to see how Alberta uses these new powers, he thinks there is a role for the federal government "to make sure that the Constitution of Canada is upheld."
"That's why I've taken such a strong stand against Bill 21 and Bill 96 in my home province, and I would take the same stand against the Alberta 'sovereignty act.' I don't think that this is appropriate for our province to determine whether or not a federal law exceeds constitutionality," Housefather said.
Asked by reporters on Parliament Hill for his thoughts on the act, Alberta Conservative MP Garnett Genuis said on his way into a Conservative caucus meeting on Wednesday that he hadn't had a chance yet to read it.
"I'll just say that I know there's a great deal of frustration in Alberta about decisions of the Trudeau government. I think there's a lot of frustration in other provinces as well about those decisions," he said,
Asked whether he thought the Alberta United Conservative Party's bill would be something the federal Conservatives would be taking a position on, Genuis said that while there may be some discussion and debate at the federal level about proposed provincial legislation, it's on Trudeau to "address the steps that he's taken that caused this kind of tension and frustration."
"I think we could do more at the federal level to promote national unity, to promote understanding and respect between different regions," he said.
In an interview on CTV News Channel's Power Play, pollster Nik Nanos said that while it is no surprise that picking on the federal government makes for "very good provincial politics," what he's watching for is whether there will be other provinces that follow suit.
"I think if this spreads beyond one province to another province, then we've got a whole world of pain on the federal-provincial relationship front. And I think for Canadians that are just worried about putting food on the table and paying the bills, the last thing they want is a constitutional crisis."
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Sean Amato, CTV News Calgary's Jordan Kanygin, and The Canadian Press
A gay man is taking the federal government to court, challenging the constitutionality of a policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that he’s invited premiers to Ottawa for a 'working meeting' to discuss a health-care funding deal, on Feb. 7.
As the minority Liberals plot out their policy moves ahead of the 2023 parliamentary sitting, weighing heavily are commitments Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made to NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh that have to be acted on this year in order to uphold the two-party confidence-and-supply deal. Here is what needs to get done to keep the deal alive.
Governor of the Bank of Canada Tiff Macklem says he thinks Canada is 'turning the corner' on inflation, but he isn't ruling out that the country could enter a 'mild recession.' In an English-language broadcast exclusive interview with CTV National News Ottawa Bureau Chief Joyce Napier, Macklem encouraged Canadians to prepare a 'buffer' to withstand 'tougher times.'
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 chances Trudeau's health-care summit with the premiers will end with the blueprint to realistic long-term improvements are only marginally better than believing China’s balloon was simply collecting atmospheric temperatures, Don Martin writes in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca, 'But it’s clearly time the 50-year-old dream of medicare as a Canadian birthright stopped being such a nightmare for so many patients.'
Based on Justin Trudeau's first-day fail in the House of Commons, 'meeting the moment' is destined to become the most laughable slogan since the elder Pierre Trudeau’s disastrous campaign rallying cry in 1972, which insisted 'the land is strong' just as the economy tanked.
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.
The federal government is pledging to increase health funding to Canada's provinces and territories by $196.1 billion over the next 10 years, in a long-awaited deal aimed at addressing Canada's crumbling health-care systems with $46.2 billion in new funding.
Residents digging through a collapsed building in a northwest Syrian town discovered a crying infant whose mother appears to have given birth to her while buried underneath the rubble from this week's devastating earthquake, relatives and a doctor said Tuesday.
The British Columbia government has introduced legislation to make Sept. 30 a paid statutory holiday marking the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Canadians now believe they need $1.7 million in savings in order to retire, a 20 per cent increase from 2020, according to a new BMO survey. The eye-watering figure is the largest sum since BMO first started surveying Canadians about their retirement expectations 13 years ago.
Three men who disappeared after planning to rap at a Detroit party were killed by multiple gunshots, police said Tuesday, five days after their bodies were found in a vacant, rat-infested building.
Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands announced Tuesday that they plan to provide Ukraine with at least 100 refurbished Leopard 1 battle tanks, a pledge that comes as Kyiv anticipates a new Russian offensive around the anniversary of its invasion.
Zoom is cutting about 1,300 jobs, or approximately 15% of its workforce. CEO Eric Yuan said in a blog post Tuesday that the company ramped up staffing during the COVID-19 pandemic, when businesses became increasingly reliant on its service as people worked from home. Yuan said Zoom grew three times in size within 24 months to manage demand.
The British Columbia government has introduced legislation to make Sept. 30 a paid statutory holiday marking the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
The federal government is pledging to increase health funding to Canada's provinces and territories by $196.1 billion over the next 10 years, in a long-awaited deal aimed at addressing Canada's crumbling health-care systems with $46.2 billion in new funding.
Canadians now believe they need $1.7 million in savings in order to retire, a 20 per cent increase from 2020, according to a new BMO survey. The eye-watering figure is the largest sum since BMO first started surveying Canadians about their retirement expectations 13 years ago.
The Tsuut'ina Police Service, which serves a community west of Calgary, is expected to share more details about the case against former Dances With Wolves actor Nathan Chasing Horse, CTV News has learned.
Even before Monday's devastating earthquake, getting aid to all parts of war-battered Syria was fraught with daunting political and logistical challenges.
Jurors at Alex Murdaugh's double murder trial in South Carolina will get to hear evidence about what crime scene technicians discovered when they tested a rain jacket found three months after his wife and son were killed, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Using underwater drones, warships and inflatable vessels, the Navy is carrying out an extensive operation to gather all of the pieces of the massive Chinese spy balloon a U.S. fighter jet shot down off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday.
It's unclear when evacuated residents might be able to return home to the area where officials released and burned toxic chemicals from the wreckage of a derailed train, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said Tuesday.
Crowds gathered at wreckage sites throughout Turkiye, vapor showing the cold air as people breathed in and out in anticipation of reaching more survivors. Even those who had emerged or escaped collapse in Monday's magnitude 7.8 earthquake and its forceful aftershocks now had to sleep in cars, outside or in government shelters.
A Utah man who fatally shot his wife, her mother and their five kids before turning the gun on himself had done online searches about how loud different guns sound and whether neighbors could hear gunshots five days before the killings, new court records posted online show.
The federal government is pledging to increase health funding to Canada's provinces and territories by $196.1 billion over the next 10 years, in a long-awaited deal aimed at addressing Canada's crumbling health-care systems with $46.2 billion in new funding.
The federal commission looking into the Liberal government's decision to use the Emergencies Act is being granted an extension to deliver its report to the cabinet and the public at the same time this month.
A U.S. survey found that people who had a personal connection to someone who became ill or died of COVID-19 were more likely to have received at least one shot of the vaccine compared to those who didn’t have any loved ones who had been impacted by the disease.
Canadian researchers are drawing attention to the increasing prevalence of 'a pathological pursuit of muscularity' among Canadian boys and young men, with a new study that found one in four were at risk of developing what's known as muscle dysmorphia.
Zoom is cutting about 1,300 jobs, or approximately 15% of its workforce. CEO Eric Yuan said in a blog post Tuesday that the company ramped up staffing during the COVID-19 pandemic, when businesses became increasingly reliant on its service as people worked from home. Yuan said Zoom grew three times in size within 24 months to manage demand.
Pakistan lifted its ban on Wikipedia services before dawn Tuesday, after the country's media regulator blocked the site last week for not removing purportedly blasphemous content, claiming it hurts the sentiments of Muslims.
Google parent Alphabet is planning to launch a chatbot service and more artificial intelligence for its search engine as well as developers, making a riposte to Microsoft in a rivalry to lead a new wave of technology.
Three men who disappeared after planning to rap at a Detroit party were killed by multiple gunshots, police said Tuesday, five days after their bodies were found in a vacant, rat-infested building.
Tickets for the first concert of Beyonce's upcoming 'Renaissance' world tour sold out Tuesday, and concert management group Live Nation said a second concert in Stockholm was added because of the high demand.
Toronto native Samantha Bee is returning home to host the 2023 Canadian Screen Awards. Organizers for the ceremony celebrating the best in Canadian film and television said Bee will helm the pre-recorded broadcast to cap off Canadian Screen Week, during which there will be numerous in-person events for the first time in four years.
The number of insolvencies filed by Canadian businesses in 2022 was up 37.2 per cent compared with 2021. The Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy says there were 3,402 business insolvencies last year, up from 2,480 in 2021.
A new poll finds one-third of Canadian households say their financial situation has worsened over the last year. According to a Leger poll commissioned by the Association for Canadian Studies, 34 per cent of Canadian households say they're financially worse off compared with a year ago.
Zoom is cutting about 1,300 jobs, or approximately 15% of its workforce. CEO Eric Yuan said in a blog post Tuesday that the company ramped up staffing during the COVID-19 pandemic, when businesses became increasingly reliant on its service as people worked from home. Yuan said Zoom grew three times in size within 24 months to manage demand.
She started throwing punches to get exercise during the COVID-19 pandemic, but now 17-year-old Talia Birch is gearing up to compete in the Canada Games as it opens up to female boxers for the first time
Ukrainian skier Ivan Kovbasnyuk, a two-time Olympian, can't train at home in the Carpathian Mountains because war in the country has damaged the power grid so severely that there's not enough energy to make the chairlifts operate.
Pro tennis player Jessica Pegula has revealed that her mother, Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres co-owner and president Kim Pegula, went into cardiac arrest in June and is still recovering while dealing with significant language and memory issues.
Automakers Renault and Nissan on Monday formalized their reboot of a relationship that had grown rocky, culminating in the spectacular fall of top executive Carlos Ghosn, who had led successful turnarounds at both companies before his arrest and daring escape.
New research suggests that cutting fossil fuel emissions by adopting electric vehicles can improve air quality and potentially reduce respiratory problems in communities. But these benefits may not apply to all neighbourhoods in the same way.
Former NFL player Jim Bob Morris is heading to the Super Bowl in Phoenix from Bloomington, Illinois, in a newly refurbished set of wheels. His ride has new paint, new seating and even a new bathroom.
