Smith mandates justice minister to use full legal arsenal to fight Liberal policies

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has ordered Justice Minister Mickey Amery to unleash all legal avenues to block a slate of federal Liberal policies seen as harmful to the province.

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Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has ordered Justice Minister Mickey Amery to unleash all legal avenues to block a slate of federal Liberal policies seen as harmful to the province.

The letter, issued on Thursday, calls on Amery to use “every legal means possible” to overturn or overhaul federal measures ranging from the industrial carbon tax to the energy censorship law (Bill C-59).

“Use every legal means possible to overturn or overhaul the federal government’s revised Impact Assessment Act (C-69), the oil and gas emissions cap, the so-called “clean electricity regulations”, tanker ban (C-45), the industrial carbon tax regulation, the federal designation of plastics as toxic, the energy industry censorship law (C-59), fertilizer regulations, and the federal electric vehicle mandate,” reads the letter.

Amery was similarly tasked with protecting and defending Albertans in their right to lawfully own firearms and to act in self-defence.

The mandate for Amery came two days after he and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services Mike Ellis already said they would not be enforcing the Liberals’ gun confiscation plan.

“Simply put, Alberta’s government will not be enforcing this gun grab, and we will make clear to law enforcement that this is not an enforcement priority. We expect them to focus their time and resources on real provincial policing priorities – like violent criminals, not hunters and sport shooters,” said the ministers in a joint statement.

Amery’s new tasks also include improving oversight and adding safeguards for medical assistance in dying, prohibiting it for those seeking it based solely on mental illness.

He was also ordered to advocate for federal bail reform and ensure that Alberta’s public institutions hire “based only on merit, competence, and equality of all persons, rather than on DEI ideology.”

Other priorities in the mandate letter include expanding judicial capacity, increasing support staff in the courts, and improving access to timely justice.

One of four new mandate letters Smith sent Thursday, the one to Ellis, reiterated that he should work with Amery to focus on legal firearm protection and self-defence.

She began sending a series of new mandate letters on September 17. In that suite of four letters, one focused on seeking provincial control over immigration from Ottawa.

Smith issued another five mandate letters on September 22, with some focus on academic freedom for students.

“Albertans can count on their government to keep standing up for them, not just with words, but with action. We have fought federal overreach in the courts and in the legislature, and we will keep doing whatever it takes to defend Alberta’s interests whenever our future is at stake,” said Smith.