In reversal of policy, adviser says Danielle Smith's sovereignty act would respect Supreme Court decisions
CBC
The top adviser to incoming Alberta premier Danielle Smith says her proposed sovereignty act would respect Supreme Court of Canada decisions — a reversal of her core policy promise on how she would challenge Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government.
Rob Anderson, Smith's campaign chair for the United Conservative Party leadership and now executive director of her transition team, told CBC in a story published Saturday that Smith's proposed sovereignty act won't empower Alberta to disregard Supreme Court rulings.
But Anderson promised that the act, which has yet to be drafted, would "have a whole head of very sharp teeth" and "change the dynamic" with Trudeau's Liberal government.
Smith's spokesperson Jonah Mozeson, responding to an email request for comment Monday, declined to answer specific queries about Anderson's statement.
In a short statement, Mozeson said, "As the premier-designate has said, the sovereignty act will be drafted in accordance with sound constitutional principles.
The premier-designate looks forward to working with caucus to draft legislation that protects and asserts Alberta's constitutional rights in accordance with the rule of law."
The sovereignty act is the signature policy for Smith, who is to be sworn in as premier Tuesday.
She won the UCP leadership race last week showcasing the act as a vanguard of a broader paradigm-busting challenge against what she has termed Trudeau's "lawless" intrusion in areas of provincial scope, ranging from energy development to COVID-19 health rules.
The act as proposed by Smith would allow the province to refuse to follow federal laws and court rulings it deemed to be not in Alberta's best interests and an illegal intrusion into its duly delegated spheres of influence under the Constitution.
As recently as a month ago, Smith said the sovereignty act would only be used in special circumstances using "special motions" requiring the consent of the Alberta Legislature.
She also stressed Alberta would not consider itself bound by the courts.
"If a court stays or ultimately deems that the actions undertaken by the province under a specific Alberta sovereignty act special motion is unconstitutional, then the government and Legislature will have to review the special motion actions in question and make a decision as to whether or not to amend, end or continue with them, understanding the legal implications such a decision could cause," Smith said in a news release Sept. 6.
The sovereignty act dominated the debate throughout the summer-long leadership campaign to replace Jason Kenney as party leader and premier.
It was denounced by five of Smith's six leadership rivals, and by Kenney, as a profoundly illegal and dangerous plan doomed to ignite economic chaos as Albertans, investors and businesses wouldn't know which laws they were to follow.
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