Jason Kenney to table act that will prevent railway blockades in Alberta

The bill, which Kenney called the Critical Infrastructure Defense Act, will create “new, and stiff critical penalties for anyone who riots on, or seeks to impair critical economic infrastructure in the province of Alberta.”

“We need national leadership to ensure that Canada is a country characterized by the rule of law, and we are pleased to see that action is finally being taken by police services to enforce court orders, but Alberta will do its part,” said Kenney, before announcing the bill.

Kenney’s statements came on the same day that Ontario Provincial Police moved in on blockaders on Mohawk territory after calls from the federal government to clear the railways of blockades and protestors.

Blockaders had stopped trains from running for the previous three weeks in support of anti-pipeline activists.

The announcement came during a lengthy address to media after the Alberta provincial court’s decision to strike down the Trudeau Liberals’ federal carbon tax—a fate opposite than that in Ontario and Saskatchewan.

Kenney went on to say that his government would “not back down” to hostility from the federal government, pressure from special interest groups, or regulatory uncertainty that could potentially inhibit investment in Alberta resource development.

Kenney also reached out to the federal government, requesting that Ottawa work together with Alberta in developing Alberta’s “rich” natural resources, “to generate that wealth in a responsible way.”