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Calgary Courts Centre, home of the Court of Appeal of Alberta’s Calgary registry — Photo: Ultimateshot, CC BY-SA 3.0

Policy Watch|Canada

Alberta’s top court rules 4–1 that Ottawa’s amended Impact Assessment Act still oversteps on provincial projects

In Reference re Impact Assessment Act, as amended, 2026 ABCA 320, released 9 October 2026, a majority of the Court of Appeal of Alberta found that the ‘designated projects’ part of the federal Impact Assessment Act and its Physical Activities Regulations remains unconstitutional except where it applies to federal undertakings. Parliament rewrote the scheme in 2024 after the Supreme Court struck down the original in 2023. One judge dissented. The opinion is advisory and the Act stays on the books unless Parliament changes it or the Supreme Court agrees.

Daily Teabag Desk·Centre
Syncrude Mildred Lake plant, Alberta — illustrative oil-processing image; not a Russian or U.S. facility — Photo: TastyCakes / Jamitzky, public domain

Cost of Living|United States

Treasury licenses imports of Russian diesel into the U.S. until April 2027

On 9 October 2026 the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued Russia-related General License 135. It authorizes transactions tied to the sale, delivery, offloading and importation, including into the United States, of diesel fuel of Russian origin that sanctions rules would otherwise bar, until 12:01 a.m. EDT on 7 April 2027. It is a time-limited licence, not a lifting of sanctions: no one was removed from the sanctions list, and Russia’s central bank, sovereign wealth fund and finance ministry remain shut out of U.S. accounts under it.

Daily Teabag Desk·Centre
British Columbia Parliament Buildings, Victoria — Photo: Michal Klajban, CC BY-SA 4.0

Economy & Jobs|Canada

LNG Canada Phase 2: Kitimat FID doubles export capacity to 28 mtpa

Joint-venture partners took a final investment decision on LNG Canada’s Phase 2 expansion in Kitimat, B.C. Company primary: capacity rises from 14 to 28 million tonnes a year. The PMO (29 Sep) welcomed a $33-billion private investment and a companion Coastal GasLink Phase 2 FID — distinct from the West Coast oil-pipeline Schedule 1 listing (PC 2026-0925, 1 Oct) tracked separately on this site.

Daily Teabag Desk·Slight right
Syncrude Mildred Lake plant, Alberta — Photo: TastyCakes / Jamitzky, public domain

Accountability|Canada

Pacific Link listed: West Coast oil pipeline added to Building Canada Act Schedule 1

Order in Council PC 2026-0925 (1 October 2026) amends Schedule 1 of the Building Canada Act to list the West Coast Oil Pipeline — branded Pacific Link by Ottawa and Alberta — as a project of national interest. That starts a single federal review and conditions track toward 1 September 2027. It is not a CER certificate and not construction.

Daily Teabag Desk·Slight right
Centre Block, Parliament Hill, Ottawa — Photo: Ken Lund, CC BY-SA 2.0

Accountability|Canada

Bill C-39 passes second reading 296–26 and goes to a legislative committee; the Building Canada Strong Act is still not law

Bill C-39, the Building Canada Strong Act, is still at second reading. On 5 October 2026, the House’s first day back, the Projected Order of Business puts it first under Government Orders: resuming debate on the previous question moved by Ryan Turnbull on 25 September, with a legislative-committee referral pending. Labour Code s.107 guardrails and Indigenous consultation clocks are the live citizen fights. Update, 8 October: at midnight on 7 October the House carried the previous question on division; the second-reading recorded division is deferred to 8 October after Question Period, and its 11-member legislative committee has been named. Update, 9 October: on 8 October the House passed second reading 296–26 (Division 178) and referred C-39 to the Legislative Committee on Bill C-39, chaired by James Maloney. Conservatives and Liberals voted yes; the Bloc, the NDP and Elizabeth May voted no. The bill is not yet law.

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