Canada's environment minister warned on Wednesday that oil and gas companies would be breaking federal laws if they withheld emissions data, after Alberta's premier said the province was considering measures to block a proposed emissions cap.
Alberta premier Danielle Smith on Tuesday said her government intends to put forward a motion in the provincial legislature that would allow it to launch a legal challenge to Ottawa's proposed oil and gas emissions cap.
Canada's main oil and gas province is also considering looking at other steps to undermine the cap if it becomes law, such as restricting entry into oil and gas facilities in Alberta and access to emissions data.
"If companies stop reporting to the federal government they would be in violation of federal laws, something I certainly wouldn't advise to any large companies," federal environment minister Steven Guilbeault told reporters in Ottawa.
The latest spat between Smith's conservative government in Alberta and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals highlights the province's staunch opposition to a policy aimed at cutting emissions from Canada's highest-polluting industry.
It also shows how even if Trudeau's government manages to win a federal election next year, the oil and gas emissions cap will face further