Province set to fight federal emissions cap

By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on March 20, 2025.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

The provincial government has proposed amendments to the Critical Infrastructure Defence Act which it says will defend Alberta from the federal emissions cap.

The Act was introduced in 2020 to protect what is deemed essential infrastructure from trespassing, interference and damage that could impact the safety of Albertans.

The federal government says its cap will limit the production of greenhouse gas pollution, not the production of oil and gas.

“As the global market shifts to lower-carbon sources of energy, fuels extracted with the least amount of pollution will be in highest demand. At a time when oil and gas companies are reaching record profits, the oil and gas GHG pollution cap will stimulate the kinds of investment needed to innovate and build a strong, thriving economy that works for everyone,” Ottawa stated in a release last week.

Proposed regulations aim for a 35 per cent reduction of GHG emissions from 2019 levels, with the cap set at 27 per cent below 2026 reported emissions.

Amendments to the Act would update the definition of’ essential infrastructure “to include facilities where oil and gas production and emission data and records are held, as well as the two-kilometre-deep border zone north of the Alberta-United States border,” said the Alberta government on Wednesday.

“Our government will continue using every tool we can to defend the best interests of Albertans, our economy, and our industry. These amendments would further assert Alberta’s exclusive provincial jurisdiction to develop its natural resources and ensure our southern border remains secure. We will not tolerate the continuous and unconstitutional overreaches made by the federal government. Alberta will continue its pursuit of doubling our oil and gas production to meet the growing global demand for energy and we will not let Ottawa stand in the way of our province’s future prosperity,” said Premier Danielle Smith in a statement.

The province says updating the Act to include facilities where oil and gas emissions data and records are held will help to protect Alberta’s economy and the ability to “continue producing responsible energy to meet the world’s growing demands.”

The amendments, says the province, are in line with the Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act which was passed last year. That Act stated that all emissions data be owned exclusively by the province and that if the federal government’s proposed cap is deemed to be unconstitutional, then federal enforcement officers would have no reason to collect data or conduct emissions cap inspections.

Rebecca Shulz, Minister of Environment and Protected Areas, believes a production cap will kill thousands of Alberta jobs and devastate the provincial economy.

“Protecting Alberta’s emissions data is part of our plan to defend our province if the proposed cap ever becomes law. We will never let the federal Liberal government sacrifice Alberta’s prosperity for their extreme ideological agenda,” says Schulz.

Among Alberta’s essential infrastructure is a two-kilometre-deep border zone north of the U.S. Border, that zone which was declared in January.

“The proposed amendments are vital to increasing border security along Alberta’s southern USA border. Let this be a message to all potential traffickers, especially those who traffic deadly fentanyl, that Alberta’s southern border is secure. Anyone caught trespassing in the red zone, interfering with, or damaging essential infrastructure, and those who do not have a lawful right to be on the essential infrastructure will be arrested,” according to provincial minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services Mike Ellis.

The federal cap is opposed by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, which states that “CAPP and its members do not see an oil and gas emissions cap as an appropriate tool for addressing greenhouse gas emissions. We support market-driven solutions that deliver emission reductions at the lowest cost to Canadians while encouraging investment and growth in Canada’s economy.”

“Continuing to advance this unconstitutional regulation will only serve to create more uncertainty for oil and natural gas and overall business investment in this country,” says CAPP president and CEO Lisa Baiton on the organization’s website.

The Pembina Institute, however, supports the cap saying it’s an important element of the country’s economic future.

“The need to regulate oil and gas emissions is supported by clear evidence. While other economic sectors, and everyday Canadians, have taken steps to reduce their emissions in recent years, emissions from oil and gas production have continued to grow. The companies in this sector are now responsible for almost one-third of Canada’s overall greenhouse gas pollution,” wrote Janetta McKenzie of the Pembina Institute last fall.

“Some of those who oppose this regulation have sought to present this issue as a mutually exclusive choice between economic prosperity in Canada, and the fight against climate change. But as our analysis has shown, companies can meet this cap through technological solutions while still growing their production,” said McKenzie.