Alberta’s pledge to take over ownership of emissions data ‘irresponsible’: Guilbeault

Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says Alberta’s plan to make greenhouse gas emissions data the property of the provincial government could lead to oil and gas companies breaking federal laws.

“This is more irresponsible behaviour by the premier of Alberta, who refuses to recognize the threat posed by climate change,” Guilbeault said.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s plan is one of many steps she says her government will take to challenge the federal Liberal government’s proposed emissions cap when or if it comes into force.

She says the emissions cap is unconstitutional and harmful to Alberta, and one way she wants to protect oil companies is by taking over the responsibility of emissions reporting to the federal government.

Guilbeault says if individual oil and gas companies stop reporting their emissions data, it would be against the law.

Smith says the Alberta government would still share emissions data with Ottawa, but says the data she would share would represent the entire industry’s emissions and not those of individual companies.

CityNews asked the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) if their members plan to stop reporting to Ottawa, but a spokesperson would only say they’ll engage in consultations.

The Alberta NDP, meanwhile, says this fight is not what oil and gas companies want.

“This is a huge, giant foot into business,” said Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi. “And for a government that claims to be pro free enterprise and pro energy, they basically don’t trust the energy industry to run their own affairs. And to me, that’s shocking, and I think people in the industry feel the same way.”

University of Alberta professor of law and economics Andrew Leach believes Alberta is swaying outside of its jurisdiction in many ways with its ‘Scrap the Cap’ plan – and is likely to lose in court.

“It’s not the provincial government that’s responsible for emissions reporting, it’s the companies, and by extension the board of directors and officers of those companies,” Leach explained. “So the provincial government can’t tell them not to do that and can’t really protect them from those obligations.”

Oil and gas sector: we were not consulted

Meanwhile representatives of Alberta’s oil and gas sector say the provincial government did not consult with their industry before announcing plans to take to challenge the proposed emissions cap.

Tristan Goodman of the Explorers and Producers Association of Canada says oil and gas companies were unaware of Premier Danielle Smith’s plan to announce an forthcoming motion under the province’s Sovereignty Act, which Smith said Tuesday will give Alberta the ability to assert ownership over its own fossil fuel resources.

Goodman says companies need to see more detail about what Smith is proposing, particularly on her suggestion that the provincial government could take exclusive control and ownership of emissions data collected at oil and gas company sites.

But Goodman says while there are aspects of the plan that will need to be worked out, the industry is generally pleased that the province is taking strong action to defend the sector.

The proposed federal emissions cap, which is still in draft form, would require oil and gas companies to cut emissions by 35 per cent below 2019 levels by 2030.

The oil and gas industry has maintained that the proposed cap is unconstitutional, and accounts to a cap on production that would severely harm Alberta and the Canadian economy.

The UCP is likely to put the Sovereignty Act motion on the floor at the legislature on Monday.

–With files from Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press, and Sean Amato, CityNews