Alberta judge denies B.C.’s bid to block ‘Turn Off the Taps’ bill

A gavel sits on a desk before the a meeting of the House Justice and Human Rights Committee in Ottawa, Wednesday February 13, 2019. A judge has awarded $20 million in damages against an online firm that she says used obituaries and photographs taken off websites of Canadian funeral homes and newspapers without permission. Federal Court Judge Catherine Kane wrote in her class action lawsuit ruling that the actions of Afterlife Network Inc. amounted to "obituary piracy." THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

CALGARY — A Calgary judge is denying British Columbia’s attempt to block Alberta’s so-called “Turn Off the Taps” bill.

Queen’s Bench Justice Robert Hall says that B.C. doesn’t have the right to take Alberta to court in Alberta over legislation passed by the Alberta legislature.

In a decision released Friday, Hall says the dispute between the two provinces should be resolved in Federal Court.

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The legal battle is part of the fallout over the TransMountain pipeline expansion.

In response to B.C.’s legal measures against the pipeline, Alberta passed legislation that would allow it to shut off oil shipments to the coast.

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B.C. had asked the Alberta court to both declare the law unconstitutional and grant an injunction preventing its implementation.

(The Canadian Press)