Impact Assessment Act Ruling Hits Ottawa Again in Alberta

The Impact Assessment Act ruling out of Alberta landed late Friday, and it is a second legal blow to one of Ottawa's most contested environmental laws. Alberta's Court of Appeal decided that the federal law still oversteps into provincial territory, even after Ottawa rewrote parts of it.

What the Court Actually Said

According to The Canadian Press, as carried by Global News, the court split four to one. The majority said that although Ottawa modified the law after the Supreme Court struck down much of it in twenty twenty-three, the new version still infringes on provincial jurisdiction.

The key problem, the judges found, is that the act still lets Ottawa halt a project in provincial jurisdiction if it has even the smallest impact on federal jurisdiction. In the court's words, the law "creates great uncertainty due to the potential for previously unpronounced standards to apply to designated projects."

The judges also warned that a federal assessment scheme could, "on the pretext of some narrow ground of federal jurisdiction," conduct a far-ranging inquiry into matters that belong exclusively to the provinces. Some of Ottawa's changes were not constitutionally problematic, the court added, but the overall design still gave federal decision makers overly broad powers.

A Quick Rewind for Anyone Who Missed the Saga

The law began as a Trudeau-era bill meant to set up a single process for reviewing the environmental, economic, health and social effects of big projects such as ports, mines and pipelines. Critics in the oil patch hated it so much that former Alberta premier Jason Kenney nicknamed it the "no more pipelines act."

Alberta's top court first found the law unconstitutional in twenty twenty-two. According to Juno News, the Supreme Court of Canada largely agreed in a five-to-two ruling the following year, rejecting the designated projects scheme while leaving intact the parts that cover federal projects. Ottawa then amended the legislation in twenty twenty-four, and Alberta went back to court, with Ontario and Saskatchewan backing the challenge.

Justice Kevin Feehan was the lone dissenter, finding that Ottawa's amendments did enough to answer the Supreme Court's concerns.

Smith Wants Ottawa to Back Off

Premier Danielle Smith called the decision "yet another big win for Alberta" in a post on social media. She urged the federal government to "accept this ruling, refrain from yet another appeal" and work with the provinces to clean up the legislation.

Groups that intervened in the case cheered too. The Canadian Constitution Foundation said Ottawa's attempt to sidestep the Constitution was defeated again, and its lawyer Heather Treacy argued that Parliament can address a project's federal effects but cannot use them as a hook to regulate the whole project.

Ottawa Says It Is Still Reviewing

The federal response was careful. A spokesperson for Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin said the government is reviewing the decision and considering next steps. The statement insisted the act is fundamental to building at a pace not seen in decades, and that the opinion does not change Ottawa's commitment to work with every province in the spirit of co-operative federalism.

The timing is awkward for the Liberal government. Earlier this month, the Pacific Link pipeline became the first project designated a national priority under the new Building Canada Act, and Ottawa and Alberta are partnering on that West Coast route. Meanwhile, a newly tabled bill would shift the review of pipelines and energy transmission lines from the Impact Assessment Agency to the Canada Energy Regulator, and Ottawa says that regulator would still be bound by the Impact Assessment Act when it does its reviews.

What Changes Right Now, and What Does Not

For anyone expecting pipelines to start moving tomorrow, hold on. Juno News also points out that, like the Supreme Court's decision in twenty twenty-three, this was a constitutional reference opinion, not a judgment formally striking down the legislation. The act stays in force, and existing federal assessments are not automatically halted.

The Impact Assessment Act ruling still carries real political weight, as laid out in the foundation's own statement, according to the group. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has long demanded the law be repealed, and the ruling hands him and Smith a fresh talking point just as Ottawa tries to sell its fast-track approach to major projects. Indigenous nations and environmental groups, who have criticized the push to speed up approvals, will be watching closely too, since the majority also rejected using federal responsibilities toward Indigenous peoples to justify broader regulation.

The big question now is whether Ottawa appeals to the Supreme Court a second time or rewrites the law for good. For young Canadians who will live with the energy and climate choices made in this decade, the answer will shape how fast projects get approved and who gets the final say. More coverage of the fight over Canadian energy politics is on the GenZ NewZ Canada beat.