Alberta appeals court rules federal carbon tax unconstitutional; Kenney calls it 'a great victory'

edmonton.ctvnews.ca ^ | February 25, 2020 | Jeremy Thompson

[lowbridge]

In a 4 to 1 decision, the Alberta Court of Appeal became the first to declare the federal carbon tax unconstitutional.

The main reasoning behind the decision is that the carbon tax is an overstep by the federal government.

In the 269-page decision, Justices Catherine Fraser, Jack Watson and Elizabeth Hughes said, in part: "The division of powers remains key to our federal state. It is part of the fabric of Canada itself. The federal and provincial governments are co-equals, each level of government being supreme within its sphere. The federal government is not the parent; and the provincial governments are not its children."

They go on to call the act "a constitutional Trojan horse," as it would set a precedent, allowing the federal government to impose almost any law it wished on Canadians.

Premier Jason Kenney said the carbon tax is now illegal and called the decision "a great victory for Alberta."

[griswold3]

I was not aware of the separation of powers in the Canadian Constitution. Well done!

[ConjunctionJunction]

Wow! Go Canada!

[goldstategop]

There is a separation of powers between the federal and provincial governments.

Parliament just can’t impose any law on the provinces where it has no exclusive or concurrent jurisdiction to legislate.

[wetgundog]

Alberta, British Columbia, and Yukon Territories please petition for US Statehood.

[darkangel82]

Sounds like the Court made a solid ruling.

[Gay State Conservative]

So would that mean that it stops nationwide? I'm not sure how the Canadian court system works.

[Sam Gamgee]

Funny that the powers are violated by the Canadian Health Act. The Act requires universal healthcare yet the funding responsibility is left to the provinces.

[Sam Gamgee]

New territory for us. Very common though for the federal government to ignore rulings from the bench.

[vpintheak]

People in western Canada hate the commies on the east side.

[canuck_conservative]

I was not aware of the separation of powers in the Canadian Constitution

It's there, just that most don't bother enforcing it

But never fear, the Canadian Supreme Court will find some idiotic reason to justify it, like climate being an "existential emergency" or something

That would be the same Supreme Court that said it was illegal to carry a case of beer across provincial boundaries

The Canadian Supreme Court never supports Alberta ... but is the FedGov's lapdog all the time

[Deplorable American1776]

A sane part of Canada....Alberta, nice job...