Insight

LYTLE: Adieu Bill C-69, adieu

For the reason that bombshell information the Supreme Court docket has upheld the Alberta Court docket of Enchantment choice that Invoice C-69 is a nullity (besides within the situations of Federal lands) my telephone has been fairly busy.

I used to be one of many eight everlasting members of the Nationwide Vitality Board (NEB) whose employment was ended by this laws on August 28, 2019, and so it’s a bit private. You must know my biases earlier than studying what follows.

I do not know what the federal government must do now to restore the opening that has been created.

Does this imply all choices by the Canadian Vitality Regulator, created by Invoice C-69, at the moment are vacated? The place does this go away the workers of an company that has no foundation for existence? There are an important many questions, and I’ll go away it to constitutional consultants to opine on the trail ahead as a result of I haven’t a clue.

However, whereas I’m shocked the courtroom reached the choice that it did, I’ve by no means felt there was a dearth of causes for doing so. If nothing else, the previous eight years have made me pathologically cynical in the case of Canadian politics. So, right here’s a hat tip to the Supreme Court docket.

Mr. Trudeau received his 2015 election on the again of his fixed assaults in opposition to the Nationwide Vitality Board and its “trade captive” members. Greater than as soon as following the election, the statements coming from Privy Council interfered with the independence of the board members and have become potential hooks for the judicial enchantment of NEB choices. Aside from being actually aggravating it was a harmful undermining of Canadian establishments.

Shortly after the appointment of the final NEB board member, the Privy Council despatched a letter asking that member to voluntarily step down so the brand new authorities might appoint “a professional indigenous particular person.” Was that an open assault on the independence of that member?

Nevertheless it will get worse. The person receiving the letter was an indigenous particular person from Labrador who held a PhD in animal ecology and had beforehand held distinguished educational posts in Canada and Europe. How does one account for this stage of stupidity coming from the Privy Council? It’s nearly like inviting a former Waffen SS fighter to be lauded in Parliament. Such is the blindness of ideology.

Nobody on the NEB was shocked when the Liberal authorities proposed new laws to interchange the NEB Act.

It had been a central plank of their election platform in spite of everything. What involved lots of the board members was the contorted and internally inconsistent group and logic of the laws, the acquiescence of the power trade and the whole lack of session with lively and former board members.

Name it the Stockholm symptom however with out exception, the board members have been extra all in favour of getting good laws than in defending their sinecure (most have been timing out on their appointments in any occasion). However that didn’t occur.

As to the power trade, as a result of I’m retired, I can say this… from the place I sat, they received what they deserved. There was very restricted pushback and what resistance lastly fashioned got here too late within the course of. There have been efforts within the Senate to rethink the invoice, however the course of was steam rolled and only a few amendments have been accepted.

However I’ve a canine on this battle and I’m very cynical, so who cares what I take into consideration these occasions of 5 years in the past.

The really excellent news as we speak is that this choice affirms the courtroom system does work and a hat tip to Jason Kenney for recognizing that.

Additionally it is a convincing affirmation of the knowledge of Premier Smith in pushing by the Sovereignty Act.

Had that laws been in place in 2019, a number of the extra egregious attributes of Invoice C-69 might need been prevented whereas awaiting this beneficial choice in a case that, by necessity, would have been introduced by the federal relatively than provincial governments.

Sooner or later, the Authorities of Alberta might be within the catbird seat when there are federal raids upon provincial jurisdiction. Verify…mate. Effectively performed, Premier Smith!

Whereas I lament the illegitimate method wherein my appointment was truncated, it is a good day to be an Albertan.

From 2015 to 2020, Murray Lytle PhD. P.Eng, was a Member of the Nationwide Vitality Board.

Source link

Related Articles

Back to top button