SCC cites research by Faculty of Law professor and alumnus in carbon tax decision

University of Alberta Faculty of Law Professor Eric Adams and alumnus Andrew Leach, ‘20 LLM, have been cited by the Supreme Court of Canada in its carbon tax decision.

On March 25, the SCC ruled that the federal carbon pricing law is constitutional.

A co-authored paper by Adams and Leach was relied upon in the majority reasons. The article, “Seeing Double: Peace, Order, and Good Government, and the Impact of Federal Greenhouse Gas Emissions Legislation on Provincial Jurisdiction,” appears in the journal, the Constitutional Forum, published by the Centre for Constitutional Studies.

In it, Adams and Leach assert that there are both federal and provincial aspects to the issues surrounding the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and that a properly calibrated approach to federalism can give effect to both.

Adams and Leach argue that the federal Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act is valid under the national concern branch of the Peace Order and Good Government clause of the Constitution. A majority of the Supreme Court of Canada agree.