Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on Tuesday introduced her provincial sovereignty bill, which seeks to thwart what she calls “federal government overreach.”
This controversial motion would give the Alberta government a way to ignore federal laws or regulations that it considers harmful to the interests of the province, according to the National Post.
Here is some information to know:
The law will work thanks to a motion in the Legislative Assembly
Under this law, a legislator will introduce a motion stating that a federal policy is unconstitutional or dangerous to the province. If the motion passes, it will allow the cabinet to know how to react. The process will be at the firm’s discretion.
The firm will be able to direct various provincial entities with respect to federal laws
These entities include municipalities, provincial agencies and groups responsible for administering provincial programs. School administrators and hospitals are also included.
On the other hand, the motion will not allow the provincial government to issue unconstitutional decrees and to give instructions that fall under federal jurisdiction to provincial entities, or to give directions to private entities that are not provincial entities.
The Conservative government (UCP) already knows to which areas it wants to apply this motion
He has also announced that he wants to use it for Bill C-69, the federal government’s gun buy-back, planned reductions in fertilizer emissions and health care funding. under certain conditions.
The motion will not apply to trials
The Sovereignty Act originally suggested that the Alberta government might have the power to override court orders, but this proposal was rejected.
This motion gives the cabinet unilateral powers to change the legislation
If the motion passes, the cabinet can amend the legislation itself, but the amendments could be subject to debate.
However, the bill will not allow Alberta to oppose the Canadian Constitution or to secede from Canada.