Author Archives: Martin Olszynski

About Martin Olszynski

B.Sc. in Biology (Saskatchewan), LL.B. (Saskatchewan), LL.M. Specialization in Environmental Law (University of California at Berkeley). Assistant Professor. Please click here for more information.

The Amendments to Bill 1

By: Martin Olszynski and Nigel Bankes

Matter commented on: The Government Amendments to Bill 1, Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act

PDF Version: The Amendments to Bill 1

As anticipated at the time that we posted our original critique of Bill 1, the Smith administration tabled a set of amendments to Bill 1 that were adopted in the Committee of the Whole and included in the version adopted on third reading early in the morning of December 8, 2022.  The amendments were tabled in the form of a single document and included two main changes: (1) a change to the harm trigger; and (2) the removal of the Henry VIII provisions. Continue reading →

Running Afoul the Separation, Division, and Delegation of Powers: The Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act

By: Martin Olszynski and Nigel Bankes

Legislation Commented on: Bill 1 – Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act

 PDF Version: Running Afoul the Separation, Division, and Delegation of Powers: The Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act

On Tuesday, November 29, 2022, the provincial government unveiled its highly anticipated and controversial “Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act” (Bill 1). The promise to introduce some form of sovereignty legislation was the key plank of Premier Danielle Smith’s UCP leadership campaign this past summer and fall. An initial ABlawg post that drew from the general contours of  the legislation, as found in a 2021 policy document called the “Free Alberta Strategy,” expressed concerns that “the clearest and most immediate effects of such ideas is not sovereignty, nor changes to the confederation bargain, but rather a damaging blow to the rule of law and the basic building blocks of democratic governance.” Continue reading →

Playing Games with the Constitution: The Saskatchewan First Act

By: Nigel Bankes, Andrew Leach, and Martin Olszynski

Matter commented on: Bill 88: An Act to Assert Saskatchewan’s Exclusive Legislative Jurisdiction and to Confirm the Autonomy of Saskatchewan

PDF Version: Playing Games with the Constitution: The Saskatchewan First Act

On November 1, 2022, Bronwyn Eyre, as Minister of Energy and Resources and Minister of Justice and Attorney General, introduced Bill 88, The Saskatchewan First Act, for First Reading in Saskatchewan’s Legislative Assembly. Bill 88 is comprised of a lengthy preamble and three separate parts. Part 1 is entitled “Preliminary Matters and Constitutional Assertion”. Part 2 proposes amendments to the Constitution of Saskatchewan and Part 3 establishes an Economic Impact Assessment Tribunal. Continue reading →

The Alberta Sovereignty Act and the Rule of Law

By: Martin Olszynski, Jonnette Watson Hamilton, and Shaun Fluker

Matter Commented On: The Alberta Sovereignty Act and the Free Alberta Strategy

PDF Version: The Alberta Sovereignty Act and the Rule of Law

Last week, United Conservative Party (UCP) leadership hopeful Danielle Smith announced that, upon her election as Premier, she would introduce the Alberta Sovereignty Act, legislation described as the “cornerstone” of the Free Alberta Strategy (Strategy), published back in the fall of 2021 (see story here). Briefly, this law would purport to grant the Alberta Legislature the power “to refuse enforcement of any specific Act of Parliament or federal court ruling that Alberta’s elected body deemed to be a federal intrusion into an area of provincial jurisdiction” (Strategy at 22). Legal academics have dismissed the idea as one that would clearly offend Canada’s constitutional order, but to date mainstream media commentary has failed to acknowledge the fundamentally unlawful and undemocratic nature of this proposal. Continue reading →

Carbon Tax Redux: A Majority of the Alberta Court of Appeal Opines that the Impact Assessment Act is Unconstitutional

By: Martin Olszynski

Opinion Commented on: Reference re Impact Assessment Act, 2022 ABCA 165 (CanLII)

PDF Version: Carbon Tax Redux: A Majority of the Alberta Court of Appeal Opines that the Impact Assessment Act is Unconstitutional

On May 10, 2022, the Alberta Court of Appeal released its lengthy and long-awaited opinion in Reference re Impact Assessment Act, 2022 ABCA 165 (CanLII). A majority of the Court of Appeal (Chief Justice Fraser, Justice Watson, and Justice MacDonald) concluded that the Impact Assessment Act, SC 2019, c 28, s 1 (IAA), Part 1 of Bill C-69, was ultra vires (i.e. beyond) Parliament’s legislative authority pursuant to section 91 of the Constitution Act, 1867. Justice Strekaf concurred in the result. Justice Greckol dissented, concluding that the IAA was indeed constitutional. In my view, Justice Greckol’s dissent is both clearer and more consistent with current Canadian constitutional and environmental law doctrine. The majority’s opinion, on the other hand, is relatively difficult to follow, includes basic doctrinal errors in some parts, and ignores or strays far from precedent in others. In this and other ways, the majority’s approach is strongly reminiscent of its earlier opinion in Reference re Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, 2020 ABCA 74 (CanLII) (GGPPA Reference ABCA) (see post here), which was overturned by the Supreme Court of Canada in References re Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, 2021 SCC 11 (CanLII) (GGPPA References SCC) (see posts here, here, and here). The federal government has already confirmed that it will appeal the majority’s opinion to the Supreme Court, pending which the IAA regime will remain in force (reference opinions not being strictly binding the same way that judgments are). Continue reading →