Premiers in western provinces slam Trudeau gov’t for suggesting federal takeover of natural resources
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Canadian Justice Minister David Lametti said he would look at rescinding the 1930 Natural Resources Transfer Agreements with the Prairie provinces and strip away their constitutional authority and control over natural resources.
(LifeSiteNews) — Three western Canadian premiers blasted the suggestion by one of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s ministers that the federal government could take control of a province’s natural resources, calling the idea “dangerous” for national unity.
In a joint letter released yesterday to Trudeau, Premiers Danielle Smith of Alberta, Scott Moe of Saskatchewan, and Heather Stefanson of Manitoba wrote that he needs to “tell Canadians today that federal Justice Minister David Lametti was not speaking on behalf of the federal government when he said he would look at rescinding the 1930 Natural Resources Transfer Agreements with the Prairie provinces and strip away their constitutional authority and control over natural resources.”
“The prime minister needs to immediately retract these dangerous and divisive comments by his justice minister,” they added.
The premiers wrote that the agreements in place since 1930 giving the provinces full autonomy over their natural resources “recognized the Prairie provinces with the same rights over resources that all other provinces already had.”
“Those rights have been fundamental to the people and the economic autonomy of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta for nearly 100 years,” the premiers wrote.
The premiers stated strongly that the Trudeau federal government “cannot” unilaterally “change the Constitution.”
“It should not even be considering stripping resource rights away from the three Prairie provinces,” the premiers wrote.
The counterattack against Trudeau by the premiers comes after Grand Chief Brian Hardlotte of the Prince Albert Grand Council and Chief Donald Maracle of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte said a few days ago that the federal government should withdraw the Natural Resources Transfer Act.
The chiefs claimed that the resources were given to the provinces without “ever asking one Indian if it was OK to do that.”
In response, Lametti said that he would look into the issue.
“It won’t be uncontroversial is the only thing I would say, with a bit of a smile,” he said.