Nothing is off the table when it comes to responding to newly proposed legislation that would give Alberta Premier Danielle SmithB次元官网网址檚 government B次元官网网址渆xceptional powers,B次元官网网址� Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday.

Trudeau stopped briefly on his way into a Liberal caucus meeting to address the long-awaited legislation SmithB次元官网网址檚 government introduced Tuesday in the provincial legislature.

The bill, called the Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act, proposes to give SmithB次元官网网址檚 cabinet the power to rewrite provincial laws without legislative debate.

Trudeau said his government will be watching closely what happens next.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 not going to take anything off the table,B次元官网网址� he said.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 also not looking for a fight,B次元官网网址� he added. B次元官网网址淲e want to continue to be there to deliver for Albertans.B次元官网网址�

Smith promised the legislation when she was a candidate in the United Conservative Party leadership race to replace former premier Jason Kenney. She characterized the bill as a way to push back against Ottawa and made it a major focus of her campaign.

Frustration with the federal government over equalization payments and resource development has been a long-standing issue in Alberta. Smith is hoping to tap into that frustration with the new bill.

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But critics say what it really proposes is to consolidate power around SmithB次元官网网址檚 cabinet.

Kenney, who waded into the leadership race to call SmithB次元官网网址檚 sovereignty proposal B次元官网网址渃atastrophically stupid,B次元官网网址� resigned after she tabled her plan Tuesday.

B次元官网网址淲e know that the exceptional powers that the premier is choosing to give the Alberta government in bypassing the Alberta legislature is causing a lot of eyebrows to raise in Alberta,B次元官网网址� Trudeau said Wednesday. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e going to see how this plays out.B次元官网网址�

Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said the federal government should start preparing a possible legal challenge to the bill, calling it not only unconstitutional, but a risk to health-care.

Singh expressed concern Smith may use it to B次元官网网址渙pt-outB次元官网网址� of the Canada Health Act in favour of offering people a chance to pay for services.

B次元官网网址淟etB次元官网网址檚 see the government start taking steps to pre-emptively prepare a legal challenge.B次元官网网址�

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc suggested itB次元官网网址檚 too early to begin talk of court battles.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 not even sure itB次元官网网址檚 constitutional to challenge a law that hasnB次元官网网址檛 been passed,B次元官网网址� he said.

Under SmithB次元官网网址檚 bill, cabinet would have the power to direct B次元官网网址減rovincial entities,B次元官网网址� from municipalities to regional health authorities, to defy federal rules it deems would hurt AlbertaB次元官网网址檚 interests.

Liberal MP Anthony Housefather, who represents a Montreal riding, said the proposal goes too far.

B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 think that this is appropriate for a province to determine whether or not a federal law exceeds its constitutionality. That is for a court,B次元官网网址� he told reporters.

B次元官网网址淚f Alberta eventually adopts this bill, weB次元官网网址檒l have to see how they use it.B次元官网网址�

SmithB次元官网网址檚 vision for Alberta has drawn comparisons to Quebec, which administers its own provincial pension plan and immigration programs and B次元官网网址� in many AlbertansB次元官网网址� minds, at least B次元官网网址� appears to garner more jurisdictional respect from Ottawa when it wants to go its own way.

Housefather said people should be B次元官网网址渨aryB次元官网网址� to use that analogy.

He pointed out that many head offices and residents left Montreal for Toronto when true Quebec sovereignty, meaning the provinceB次元官网网址檚 formal separation from Canada, was on the table.

B次元官网网址淏usinesses want stability, I think people want stability, and I donB次元官网网址檛 think the sovereignty act, even if itB次元官网网址檚 called B次元官网网址榯he sovereignty act in a united Canada,B次元官网网址� offers stability.B次元官网网址�

Smith has said her proposal is not about separating from Canada. However, on Wednesday, she released a video on Twitter that described her plans not to enforce so-called Liberal laws that B次元官网网址渁ttackB次元官网网址� the provinceB次元官网网址檚 economy and individualsB次元官网网址� rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Housefather says the bigger question the bill raises is about B次元官网网址渉ow Canadians see their countryB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� whether they see a role for a federal government beyond their province or territory.

B次元官网网址淚 feel very strongly that as a Canadian, everybody should play in their lane, and playing in their lane means that legislatures donB次元官网网址檛 determine whether something is constitutional from a different level of government,B次元官网网址� he said.

While Smith has said she hopes the bill does not need to be used, briefing materials provided to reporters show her government is prepared to do so as early as next spring to deal with issues ranging from health care to property rights.

Conservatives in Ottawa were largely silent on the matter Wednesday, with two Alberta MPs saying they still needed to read the bill.

Garnett Genuis, another MP from the province, said the best way to allay AlbertansB次元官网网址� frustrations with Ottawa is to replace Trudeau.

Genuis had more to say about the proposal during the provincial leadership race, when he backed Travis Toews, who is now a member of SmithB次元官网网址檚 cabinet.

In an opinion piece published in August he called the prospective sovereignty act a B次元官网网址渃heap trickB次元官网网址� that violates the constitution and the rule of law.

B次元官网网址淚f asserting provincial authority were as easy as passing such a law, it would have been done already,B次元官网网址� Genuis wrote.

Stephanie Taylor and Mia Rabson, The Canadian Press

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