REGINA - The premiers of Canada’s three prairie provinces have issued a joint statement condemning remarks by federal Justice Minister David Lametti that he might look at rescinding 1930 Natural Resources Transfer Agreements.
Those are the agreements providing provinces with constitutional authority and control over natural resources. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, and Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson have all issued a joint statement in response to remarks Lametti made last week to the Assembly of First Nations Special Chiefs Assembly in Ottawa on April 5. Of the Natural Resources Transfer Agreement Lametti said “I do commit to looking at that. It won’t be uncontroversial, is the only thing I would say with a bit of a smile.”
The full statement from the Premiers is as follows:
“The Prime Minister needs to tell Canadians today that his Justice Minister 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 stripping away their constitutional authority and control over natural resources.
“These agreements recognized that the prairie provinces have the same rights over resources that all of the other provinces already had. Those rights have been fundamental to the people and the economic autonomy of Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba for nearly 100 years.
“The federal government cannot unilaterally change the constitution. They should not even be considering stripping resource rights away from the three prairie provinces.
“The Prime Minister needs to immediately retract these dangerous and divisive comments by his Justice Minister.”
