A 4-1 Alberta court opinion found the 2024 federal changes still reached too far into provincial projects
Thunder Bay ON – National News Service — The federal government will not ask the Supreme Court of Canada to review an Alberta court opinion that found much of Ottawa’s revised Impact Assessment Act unconstitutional. It will amend the law again instead.
The choice leaves the Alberta Court of Appeal’s Oct. 9 opinion as the latest guide in a long dispute over who may assess and regulate major projects. It also creates a new period of uncertainty for mines, energy projects, ports and other developments that may face both federal and provincial reviews.
What the court found
Four of the five judges concluded that Parliament’s 2024 amendments did not go far enough to keep federal decisions within federal powers. The majority said the law could still use a project’s federal effects as a gateway to regulate a mainly provincial project as a whole.
Justice Kevin Feehan dissented. He would have upheld the amended system, finding that the changes confined key decisions to adverse effects within federal jurisdiction.
The case was a reference, which means Alberta asked its appeal court for an opinion on constitutional questions. The opinion does not, by itself, erase the federal statute. Ottawa has not announced that current assessments are suspended.
The Supreme Court had already found most of the original designated-projects system unconstitutional in 2023. Parliament responded in 2024 by narrowing the definition of federal effects and changing the decision process. The Alberta court found those repairs insufficient.
Rewrite promised, timeline missing
Amy Falkner, press secretary to Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin, confirmed the no-appeal decision in a media statement reported by The Canadian Press. She said Canada would move quickly to give certainty to investors, industry and Indigenous Peoples.
Ottawa had not released draft amendments, a consultation plan or a timetable by the research cutoff. It also had not explained how the rewrite would affect reviews already underway.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith welcomed the decision and called for a major overhaul that reduces federal involvement in provincially regulated infrastructure. Environmental law charity Ecojustice said the decision creates uncertainty and warned that a narrower law could weaken federal review of cumulative effects on the environment, human health and Indigenous rights.
The next test will be whether Ottawa can draw a law that protects matters under federal authority without turning those effects into control over an entire provincial project. Parliament will also need to reconcile that work with Bill C-39, a separate bill that proposes major changes to project reviews.
