BC granted temporary injunction against Alberta's turn-off-the-taps law
The Federal Court of Canada granted BC a temporary injunction against Alberta’s Bill 12: Preserving Canada’s Economic Prosperity Act — better known as the ‘Turn-off-the-Taps’ legislation.
The bill was introduced by Rachel Notley’s government in 2018 in the heat of Alberta and BC’s pipeline feud over the Trans Mountain pipeline extension.
The expansion – which twins an existing pipeline running from Edmonton to Burnaby, BC – will increase shipping capacity from Alberta to BC by 590,000 barrels of crude oil a day.
This spring, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney proclaimed the bill which allows the province to cut off its oil and gas exports to other provinces, particularly BC.
In response, the BC government filed two actions in court to strike it down.
On Tuesday, Federal Court Judge Sébastien Grammond said he is “allowing British Columbia’s motion for interlocutory injunction.”
“I find that the irreparable harm that British Columbia would suffer if the injunction is not granted far outweighs any inconvenience that the injunction might impose on Alberta,” he wrote in his decision.
The decision means Bill 12 is suspended for the courts to determine it is unconstitutional.
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