Roundup: Federal jurisdiction wins again

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It should have been no surprise to anyone that the BC Court of Appeal rejected the province’s attempt to dictate the content of federally-regulated pipelines in a 5-0 decision. In other words, the province could not reject the transport of diluted bitumen through the Trans Mountain expansion by stealth, and in no uncertain terms. The province quickly announced that they would appeal this to the Supreme Court of Canada (though the 5-0 decision makes it more likely that they’ll simply say no thanks, and let the BCCA decision stand).

https://twitter.com/EmmMacfarlane/status/1131972145507164160

While Jason Kenney was quick to crow over the Twitter Machine about how this was great news for Alberta, it seems to me that it’s rather great news for the federal government, because it upholds that they continue to have jurisdiction over these pipelines, and lo, they didn’t need to do some song and dance to “declare” or “invoke” it – because Section 92(10)(c) isn’t a magic wand, and it was already federal jurisdiction in the first place because it crossed provincial boundaries. And just like with the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal decision on the carbon price reference, it again showed that yes, the federal government has jurisdiction. After all, Kenney kept saying that the federal government should invoke 92(10)(c) because there BC’s position on this case showed that there was apparently some confusion around jurisdiction. But there never was any confusion – BC was trying to be too cute by half, and it didn’t work for them.

Speaking of Kenney, he was apparently in Toronto having a meeting with the Globe and Mail’s editorial board yesterday, and said that investors looking at climate risk was “flavour of the month” and they should instead focus on all of those “ethical oil” considerations instead. The problem there is that climate risk isn’t flavour of the month – it’s an existential threat to our economy. The Bank of Canada realized this and now lists it as a major risk to the country’s economy. The insurance industry really knows it’s responsible for billions of additional dollars in their spending over the past couple of years alone, thanks to flash floods, major forest fires, and so on. And have those “ethical oil” lines ever worked on anyone? I didn’t think so. But expect more of them to be bombarded at us in the near future as his “war room” gets underway to wage their propaganda campaign in “defence” of the industry.

Good reads:

  • Marc Garneau announced a two-phased approach for the implementation of their air passenger bill of rights.
  • The CRA’s Disability Advisory Committee says that the disability tax credit needs to be completely overhauled.
  • Here’s an exploration into the thinking behind the “energy corridor” idea that Andrew Scheer is pushing as his economic policy.
  • The Chief of Defence Staff, General Jonathan Vance, has issued a formal apology for the closed-door dedication of the Afghanistan memorial.
  • Vice-Admiral Mark Norman had a “cordial” meeting with Vance, but is still not back on the job (probably because it means a major org chart reshuffle).
  • The Supreme Court of Canada ordered a new trial in the death of a woman because the trial judge allowed myths around sexual assault to be used during the trial.
  • As expected, Andrew Scheer admits his balanced budget pledge will be over five years, not two, blaming the “mess” the Liberals made. Like the one his party left?
  • Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott will hold back-to-back press conferences on Monday to announce their political futures.
  • Quebec’s justice minister is warning Justin Trudeau not to reject the province’s pick for the next Supreme Court of Canada justice. (Not sure it works that way).
  • In the Alberta legislature, Jason Kenney’s government is introducing the ability for MLAs to abstain during votes (which I’m not really keen about).
  • Andrew Potter makes the case for why the media bailout package has become so toxic for all involved.
  • Aaron Wherry looks to the past to contextualize why Andrew Scheer saying he won’t reopen the abortion debate isn’t as simple as it sounds.
  • Defence analyst Dave Perry checks the government’s defence spending figures (and they’re not bad, actually).
  • Kevin Carmichael looks at the booming Canadian tech sector, and where it’s vulnerable to poor government policy (like Doug Ford’s cuts).
  • Matt Gurney thinks that Elizabeth May is marginalizing her chances by ruling out ever working with Andrew Scheer in a coalition. (Perhaps it’s because Scheer lies?)
  • Jason Markusoff notes how Kenney will be treading familiar territory to shill for the federal Conservatives in the election, visiting those ethno-cultural buffets.
  • Paul Wells explains the dire situation that the UK finds itself in as Theresa May announces her resignation date.

Odds and ends:

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2 thoughts on “Roundup: Federal jurisdiction wins again”

  1. And while the court affirmed the Federal government’s jurisdiction we have the “illustrious” sheer nonsense of the leader of the conservatives laying out his doctrine of pipelines spanning the nation, through communities, native lands over rivers, streams and Provincial borders with no costing, dollars or otherwise. All while the nation moves inexorably away from fossil fuel use.

  2. “While the advisory board’s members are expected to be non-partisan, they are still appointed by Quebec’s government”

    Headshaking at the CBC article. Only 2 out of the 8 members are appointed by the government.

    ” The Liberal government is hoping to fill the spot before October’s federal election — meaning Trudeau could risk alienating Quebec voters if he decides to go against the process.”

    That’s definitely not a fact, just an opinion that has no place in what’s supposed to be a news article.

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