‘Alberta will lose this case’: Turn-off-the-taps law would be unconstitutional, says legal expert
Alberta premier-designate Jason Kenney is threatening to enact the NDP’s turn-off-the-taps legislation, which was tabled by outgoing Premier Rachel Notley’s government.
Bill 12 would restrict Alberta’s oil and gas shipments to B.C. if the province continues to stand in the way of the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion.
Kenney ran on his support for the pipeline, which included enacting the legislation.
Joel Bakan, a law professor at the University of British Columbia, said there is no constitutional basis for cutting off gas between provinces.
“I can say with absolute confidence that Alberta will lose this case,” Bakan said.
The Constitution Act of 1867 says that a province cannot interfere with interprovincial trade and commerce, he said.