Alberta Premier Smith says she's 'pissed' about oil and gas cap, eyeing legal challenge

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith claims federal draft regulations that would require oil and gas producers in Canada to limit greenhouse gas emissions by 35 per cent below 2019 levels will "lead Alberta and our country into economic and societal decline."

"I'm pissed. I'm absolutely angry because we've been working with these guys for two years, because we have a plan that would reduce emissions responsibly by 2050," Smith said during a news conference Monday. 

"They continue to act like they're working collaboratively with us, and then they come out with exactly the same policy that they put forward a year ago with no changes whatsoever."

On Monday, the federal government outlined its draft regulations, which will enforce a hard cap through a cap-and-trade system on the oil and gas sector, the biggest source of greenhouse gases in the country. 

The draft regulations come in at the bottom end of the range of what Ottawa had proposed in an earlier form — initially outlined as a regulatory framework. At that time, the rules would have required industry to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 35 to 38 per cent from 2019 levels by 2030.

In October, Alberta launched a $7-million advertising campaign in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, urging Ottawa to "Scrap the Cap." That campaign included television, online video, print and social media ads.

The Alberta government has long argued that emissions should be reduced with incentives and technologies, and that the plan is an infringement of the province's exclusive jurisdiction over its resources.

On Monday, Smith said the provincial government was considering the use of "every legal option" to push back against the cap, including a constitutional challenge and the use of the Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act.

"We're going to continue on with developing a motion in the legislature that we'll put forward that will detail some additional steps that we're doing," Smith said.

The federal government, on the other hand, says the oil and gas industry hasn't been doing its fair share to fight against climate change.

"I think most Canadians — even those that aren't my biggest fans — would agree that it's not OK for a sector to not be doing its share, and that's mostly what this regulation is about," Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault told The Canadian Press.

Reaction from the oil and gas industry came quickly after the draft regulations were made available.

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), a lobby group, said it and its members believe the draft emissions cap regulations, if implemented, would likely deter investment in Canadian oil and natural gas projects.

"The result would be lower production, lower exports, fewer jobs, lower GDP and less revenues to governments to fund critical infrastructure and social programs on which Canadians rely," reads a statement attributed to CAPP president Lisa Baiton.