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

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.

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.

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

Hall has declined to do either.