Ottawa Won’t Appeal Court Ruling Finding Impact Assessment Act Unconstitutional
The federal government says it won’t appeal an Alberta Court of Appeal ruling that found the Impact Assessment Act (IAA) is unconstitutional and infringes on provincial jurisdiction. The office of Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin said in a media statement that Ottawa will instead amend the act, which governs federal assessments of the environmental and other impacts of major projects, in response to the ruling.
TL;DR
- The federal government will not appeal the Alberta Court of Appeal's ruling on the Impact Assessment Act (IAA).
- The ruling found the IAA to be unconstitutional and infringing on provincial jurisdiction.
- Ottawa intends to amend the IAA in response to the court's decision.
- The court determined that recent changes to the IAA failed to address constitutional problems highlighted by the Supreme Court of Canada.
- A majority of the judges ruled that the act's provisions exceeded federal constitutional authority.