The government of Saskatchewan is joining Alberta in its condemnation of Ottawa’s proposed new methane reductions targets announced at the COP28 summit in Dubai on Monday morning.The problem, according to Saskatchewan’s Energy Minister Jim Reiter, is that they’re not exactly new. In fact, the province had already managed to reduce methane emissions emissions more than 60% since 2019 and had committed to a further 45% cut from 2015 levels by 2025.In a statement of his own, Reiter said the newest pronouncements from federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault amount to a “production cut by default” on Saskatchewan’s oil and gas sector and also violates the letter — if not the spirit — of bilateral agreements it signed with the federal government in 2020.."This latest unilateral federal action on methane targets specific provincial industries and infringes on our exclusive provincial jurisdiction over natural resources. Saskatchewan Justice Minister and Attorney General Bronwyn Eyre."These continually changing rules lead to investor uncertainty and allow countries with far less stable regulatory regimes to dominate the energy space," added Justice Minister and Attorney General Bronwyn Eyre. "This latest unilateral federal action on methane targets specific provincial industries and infringes on our exclusive provincial jurisdiction over natural resources. In response, we will consider all possible options, including a referral to the Saskatchewan First Economic Impact Assessment Tribunal."It comes after Guilbeault on Monday pledged to cut Canada’s methane emissions “by at least” another 75% without consulting either Alberta or Saskatchewan who both have high-level delegations at the conference.At the very least, they’re both accusing him of violating the spirit of ‘co-operative federalism’ entrenched in the constitution, if not the constitution itself..As confirmed in The Saskatchewan First Act — Saskatchewan’s version of Alberta’s Sovereignty Act — the provincial government “has exclusive legislative jurisdiction, under Section 92A of the Constitution Act, 1867, over the exploration of non-renewable natural resources..This latest federal proposal comes amid growing momentum in favour of provincial rights, including the Supreme Court's recent decision on the federal Impact Assessment Act (Bill C-69) and the Federal Court's recent decision on plastics.In addition, in the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act case — where the Supreme Court affirmed Ottawa’s right to tax carbon emissions — “Chief Justice Wagner clearly stated that Parliament does not have the power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions generally or emissions from specific sectors,” Reiter and Eyre said.“As confirmed in The Saskatchewan First Act — Saskatchewan’s version of Alberta’s Sovereignty Act — the provincial government “has exclusive legislative jurisdiction, under Section 92A of the Constitution Act, 1867, over the exploration of non-renewable natural resources,” which includes the exclusive authority to regulate the greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and gas sector.In a paper published in 2018, Dr. Joule Bergerson of the University of Calgary reported if other oil and gas producing nations regulated their energy sectors like Saskatchewan, particularly around methane, global energy-produced greenhouse gas emissions would fall by 25%.
The government of Saskatchewan is joining Alberta in its condemnation of Ottawa’s proposed new methane reductions targets announced at the COP28 summit in Dubai on Monday morning.The problem, according to Saskatchewan’s Energy Minister Jim Reiter, is that they’re not exactly new. In fact, the province had already managed to reduce methane emissions emissions more than 60% since 2019 and had committed to a further 45% cut from 2015 levels by 2025.In a statement of his own, Reiter said the newest pronouncements from federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault amount to a “production cut by default” on Saskatchewan’s oil and gas sector and also violates the letter — if not the spirit — of bilateral agreements it signed with the federal government in 2020.."This latest unilateral federal action on methane targets specific provincial industries and infringes on our exclusive provincial jurisdiction over natural resources. Saskatchewan Justice Minister and Attorney General Bronwyn Eyre."These continually changing rules lead to investor uncertainty and allow countries with far less stable regulatory regimes to dominate the energy space," added Justice Minister and Attorney General Bronwyn Eyre. "This latest unilateral federal action on methane targets specific provincial industries and infringes on our exclusive provincial jurisdiction over natural resources. In response, we will consider all possible options, including a referral to the Saskatchewan First Economic Impact Assessment Tribunal."It comes after Guilbeault on Monday pledged to cut Canada’s methane emissions “by at least” another 75% without consulting either Alberta or Saskatchewan who both have high-level delegations at the conference.At the very least, they’re both accusing him of violating the spirit of ‘co-operative federalism’ entrenched in the constitution, if not the constitution itself..As confirmed in The Saskatchewan First Act — Saskatchewan’s version of Alberta’s Sovereignty Act — the provincial government “has exclusive legislative jurisdiction, under Section 92A of the Constitution Act, 1867, over the exploration of non-renewable natural resources..This latest federal proposal comes amid growing momentum in favour of provincial rights, including the Supreme Court's recent decision on the federal Impact Assessment Act (Bill C-69) and the Federal Court's recent decision on plastics.In addition, in the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act case — where the Supreme Court affirmed Ottawa’s right to tax carbon emissions — “Chief Justice Wagner clearly stated that Parliament does not have the power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions generally or emissions from specific sectors,” Reiter and Eyre said.“As confirmed in The Saskatchewan First Act — Saskatchewan’s version of Alberta’s Sovereignty Act — the provincial government “has exclusive legislative jurisdiction, under Section 92A of the Constitution Act, 1867, over the exploration of non-renewable natural resources,” which includes the exclusive authority to regulate the greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and gas sector.In a paper published in 2018, Dr. Joule Bergerson of the University of Calgary reported if other oil and gas producing nations regulated their energy sectors like Saskatchewan, particularly around methane, global energy-produced greenhouse gas emissions would fall by 25%.
