Alberta Court of Appeal says Ottawa's Impact Assessment Act is still unconstitutional

12-Oct-2026

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The Alberta Court of Appeal has ruled the federal government's Impact Assessment Act is still unconstitutional.

This was the second time the province of Alberta had challenged the act, which sets out a process to review the environmental, economic, health and social effects of proposed projects like ports, mines and pipelines.

In a 4-1 decision issued on October 9, the court said even though Ottawa modified the law after the Supreme Court struck down much of it in 2023, the new version still infringes on provincial jurisdiction.

The Court of Appeal found that, among other things, the act still gives Ottawa the power to stop a project in provincial jurisdiction if it has even the smallest impact on federal jurisdiction.

"While Parliament may have the power to create an impact assessment scheme that complements existing regulation in environmental matters, the [Impact Assessment Act] creates great uncertainty due to the potential for previously unpronounced standards to apply to designated projects," the court wrote.