UCP Adhering to Rules & Expectations

Water in Alberta is already under severe stress. Many of the province’s major watersheds are fully allocated, groundwater systems are poorly understood, wetlands continue to be lost, and climate change is intensifying drought cycles. In this context, the draft Co‑operation Agreement Between Alberta and Canada poses significant risks to water security by inviting the federal government to rely on Alberta’s environmental assessment (EA) and regulatory processes for projects primarily under provincial jurisdiction (Clause 1(1)) and to avoid “duplicative decision‑making” by deferring to Alberta where Alberta asserts it can address federal effects (Clause 3(1)).This approach is incompatible with the reality of…