OTTAWA -- Alberta premier-designate Danielle Smith says she鈥檚 ready to take the fight to Ottawa for Alberta鈥檚 autonomy to develop its resources, so that it can build pipelines to get oil and gas to market and boost the forestry and agriculture sectors.
鈥淲e've always been treated like a subordinate level of government,鈥� she said in an interview on CTV鈥檚 Question Period, airing Sunday. 鈥淲e've acted like it. But we're going to stop acting like that. We're going to take our place as a senior partner in Confederation.鈥�
Smith also plans to take the federal carbon tax back to the Supreme Court, after it ruled just last year that the policy is constitutional.
She added that Alberta deserves respect for being one of the largest economies in the country, and echoed portions of her Thursday night election victory speech that Albertans will not be 鈥渟ilenced and censored,鈥� and the province will no longer 鈥渁sk permission from Ottawa to be prosperous and free.鈥�
鈥淲e will not have our resources landlocked or our energy phased out of existence by a virtue-signalling prime minister,鈥� she said during her speech. 鈥淎lbertans, not Ottawa, will chart our own destiny on our own terms and we will work with our fellow Canadians to build the most free and prosperous country on earth.鈥�
Smith told CTV鈥檚 Question Period she is ready to work collaboratively with the federal government, but that she鈥檚 going to 鈥減ush very hard鈥� to get resources developed.
鈥淭hey can take us to court if they want to stop us but I think we would win that battle,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat's what I'm looking forward to.鈥�
Smith has promised to push for more autonomy for Alberta throughout her campaign. The premier-designate hopes to table her controversial Alberta Sovereignty Act by early December, following her plans to win the southeastern seat of Brooks-Medicine Hat in the legislature during a byelection launched as early as next week.
The act would give the Alberta legislature the power to ignore federal laws it deems not in the best interest of the province.
鈥淚 think that it's only fair to the federal government to let them know we're changing our relationship back to the way it was supposed to be,鈥� Smith said.
In a separate interview also airing Sunday, Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson told CTV鈥檚 Question Period that although Alberta is 鈥減ushing at the edges in terms of some of these issues,鈥� there are still opportunities to work together, including at his Regional Energy and Resource Tables.
鈥淚 continue to be of the view that this federation works best when we find pathways to work together, understanding that there are always some differences that exist,鈥� he said.
As for Smith鈥檚 promise to take the federal carbon tax back to the Supreme Court 鈥� arguing recent energy and affordability crises are 鈥渘ew information鈥� the court should consider before making a new ruling 鈥� Wilkinson said he believes 鈥渢hat issue has largely been settled.鈥�
鈥淭hat鈥檚 up to the courts as to whether they accept a new challenge, but I would say from a legal perspective, I think the bar is very high,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t would be very unusual for I think the Supreme Court to rehear a case and just decided, and almost certainly there would be a process that one would have to go through and the arguments would really have to be fundamentally new arguments.鈥�
鈥淏ut of course Alberta is free to try again through the courts if it feels that that is something that is worth doing,鈥� he added. 鈥淚 would just say, I think the issue is settled. There are ways in which we can actually move forward without spending a lot more money litigating an issue that I think has been already done.鈥�
