Alberta will not say how much lawsuits against Ottawa cost

Alberta is going to court against Ottawa again, now totalling 10 cases on everything from guns to oil.

The province added to that list Thursday, announcing a new lawsuit claiming Canada’s amendments to the impact assessment act are both bad for oil and gas and still tread on Alberta’s turf. 

 “We’ve got 4 reviews related to the federal firearms ban, 2 review related to the emergencies act, 1 challenge related to the plastics ban, 1 on the federal fertilizer act, 1 challenge to the federal carbon tax exemption on home heating oil, and of course the reference case on the federal assessment act,” said Mickey Amery, Alberta Justice Minister.

 “Their amendments contain some clever word games, but still ultimately gave the federal government control over projects that fall under Alberta’s exclusive jurisdiction,” said Danielle Smith, Alberta premier.

So how much are all of these legal fights costing provincial taxpayers? 

The Justice Minister didn’t provide any numbers when asked on Thursday, saying it’s hard to know with ongoing cases. Still, he insisted fighting Ottawa is worth every penny. 

 “The cost of moving these cases forward absolutely pales in comparison to the economic impact that we expect to see if this continues in this way,” said Amery.

A spokesperson for the Justice Minister refused to say how much Albertans have to pay for these lawsuits, saying retainers for external lawyers are private. 

The province’s latest lawsuit comes the same week the premier announced a sovereignty act motion as part of a wide sweeping plan to fight Ottawa over the Liberals proposed emissions cap. 

Alberta’s NDP says the UCP government keeps ending up in court because they’re not interested in negotiating with the Feds or having a serious plan to reduce emissions. 

“Once again this is a premier who has never seen a carrot. All she has in her arsenal are pointy sticks. And we would have never gotten to this point if Alberta had not been such an unwilling partner to actually take on this issue,” said Naheed Nenshi, Alberta NDP leader.

On the streets of Edmonton Friday, a chilly reception for news of more legal bills. 

“That sounds like a waste of money. I can’t see that leading to anything productive,” said Anthony Bogatko, Albertan.

“I think it costs less money to sit down and talk things out than it does to challenge things in court,” said Brian Wutzke, Albertan.

 “Yeah, they definitely should work together. I don’t know if lawsuits are going to fix that problem,” said Victor Vysotski, Albertan.

A statement out of Ottawa calls Smith’s latest lawsuit “reckless political games.” The federal energy and environment ministers say their policy is meant to provide clarity and predictability for big oil and gas projects, which they claim Smith is now putting at risk.