In light of Friday’s Supreme Court of Canada decision on the Impact Assessment Act, Conservatives are already making some pretty stupid demands, like this one from MP Shannon Stubbs, who wants to move a motion at the Natural Resources Committee to repeal the old Bill C-69—except that it’s not what the Supreme Court ruled on, it’s a complete misreading of what the ruling was, and more to the point, would try to repeal the parts that are constitutional, and create even more uncertainty in the market. If people think that the system that the Harper government put into place was somehow better, all it did was ensure that project approvals wound up in litigation because there was too much uncertainty and ambiguity in the rules, and it didn’t do anything to speed approvals like they claimed it would.
This is a stunningly bad misreading of what the #SCC actually said, would repeal the parts of the Act that are constitutional, and would create even more uncertainty for industry while the judgment gives guidance on how to fix the existing law. This kind of motion is childish. pic.twitter.com/4QLljBVtO1
— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) October 16, 2023
The SCC did not rule on Bill C-69, but on one of the Acts that were part of that Bill. The other, the Canadian Energy Regulator Act (The Pipelines Act, if you wish) is and remains within the powers of the federal government. Don't make people less knowledgeable, please. https://t.co/el5peAKIZ3
— Andrew Leach (@andrew_leach) October 16, 2023
Nope. It didn't even rule that Bill C-69 was half unconstitutional. As an MP, you know the difference between the bill and one Act. Please help others recognize that too. https://t.co/bT1Mkbkbom
— Andrew Leach (@andrew_leach) October 16, 2023
For those of you who aren’t quite following, the thrust of the Court’s ruling was not that the whole scheme is unconstitutional, but rather that the list of things the federal government put into the Act in order to trigger a federal environmental assessment was overbroad, particularly around the issue of treating greenhouse gas emissions as an automatic federal issue because it’s a cross-boundary effect. That was too broad for the Court’s liking, so they’re essentially telling the government to narrow the scope of what triggers an assessment—that’s it. As previously stated, the Court explicitly rejected the notion that a “provincial” project is immune from federal assessment, so any talking points related to “exclusive jurisdiction” are also bogus, but so many people are proving that they either didn’t bother to read the decision, or if they did, certainly didn’t understand it.
Meanwhile, here’s another explanation of Friday’s ruling, this time from Martin Olszynski, Nigel Banks and David Wright.
Ukraine Dispatch:
On the 600th day of Russia’s illegal and unjustified invasion of Ukraine, their assault on the city of Avdiivka appears to be losing steam, after Ukrainian forces repelled 15 attacks from four directions over the previous 24 hours. Russians are also apparently looking to pierce the front lines in the Kupiansk-Lyman area on the country’s northeast. Elsewhere, Russia launched another overnight attack, with five missiles and twelve drones, focused on the western part of Ukraine.
600 days of defiance against Russia's full-scale aggression.
Freedom is gained by a will that does not give up. Freedom founded on unity always prevails. The goal is to not waste time. Not lose unity. Not let doubts undermine our resolve.
Every day, we must add to Ukraine's… pic.twitter.com/IxhDui3tHW
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 16, 2023
As part of our ongoing dialogue, @JustinTrudeau and I spoke to follow up on our agreements made during my recent visit to Canada. Specifically, the development of our hydroelectric generation and the completion of the Holodomor-genocide museum.
I thanked Justin for his readiness…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 16, 2023
Canada is donating at least 200 https://t.co/QRmSgAImzr
— Patricia Treble (@PatriciaTreble) October 16, 2023