In 2023, the Supreme Court of Canada determined most of the IAA was unconstitutional, finding it allowed the federal government to regulate projects outside its jurisdiction. Late last year, Parliament made minor amendments to the act, which Alberta argues do little to render the law constitutional.
The Government of Alberta is now asking the Alberta Court of Appeal to rule on whether the current version of the IAA continues to violate provincial rights.
And as in the 2023 Supreme Court case, the CCF is once again intervening in this new case. The CCF argued in the February 2026 hearing that leaving the IAA in place could seriously weaken Canada’s constitutional division of powers and undermine key principles of federalism, including the principle that each matter belongs exclusively to one order of government. Maintaining clear boundaries between federal and provincial jurisdiction is essential to upholding the rule of law and democratic accountability.
On September 18, 2024 the Canadian Constitution Foundation announced it had been granted intervener status in an upcoming Supreme Court of Canada case on the constitutionality of Newfoundland and Labrador’s pandemic travel restrictions and whether Canadian citizens have a constitutionally-protected right to interprovincial travel. The case Taylor v. Canada arises from a matter in which…
The Canadian Constitution Foundation is an intervener in the legal challenge to the federal “plastics ban” heard on June 25 and 26 at the Federal Court of Appeal.
The CCF intervened in a Supreme Court hearing about the constitutionality of the Impact Assessment Act (IAA). The IAA provides a mechanism to the federal government to pause–and ultimately—approve or prohibit natural resource projects that “may cause effects within federal jurisdiction”. In 2022, the Alberta Court of Appeal found the IAA unconstitutional in a reference…
