Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said Friday he was “profoundly disappointed” that the Senate passed bills C-48 and C-69 Thursday.

He called Bill C-48, the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act, “a prejudicial attack on Alberta, banning from Canada’s northwest coast only one product — bitumen — produced in only one province, Alberta.”

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The legislation will formalize a moratorium on oil tanker traffic of a certain size in waters from the northern tip of Vancouver Island to the province’s border with Alaska.

“The passage of Bill C-48 is an unconstitutional violation of Canada’s economic union and our government will challenge it in court,” Kenney said.

Bill C-69, which Kenney calls the ‘No More Pipelines Law,’ was also passed by the Senate Thursday night.

The Impact Assessment Act sets up a new authority to assess industrial projects, such as pipelines, mines and inter-provincial highways, for their effects on public health, the environment and the economy.

Bill C-69 passed Thursday night by a vote of 57-37.

“The Senate had commendably made 188 constructive amendments to the bill, which were subsequently stripped out by the Trudeau government in the House of Commons,” Alberta’s premier said. “The bill, in its final form, is opposed by nine of 10 provinces, almost every major industry group in Canada, and dozens of First Nations.”

Watch below: Jason Kenney calls the bills a discriminatory attack on one province – Alberta

Kenney said the passage of those two pieces of legislation pushes Alberta closer to calling a referendum on federal equalization payments. It was a point the United Conservatives brought up often during the Alberta election campaign.

“This was a key commitment in our platform,” Kenney said Friday.

“That if the federal government proceeded with unacceptable versions of these two bills, attacks on our vital economic interests, that if we did not get a coastal pipeline built and if the federal government proceeds with the imposition of a federal carbon tax on us, we’d be prepared to hold a referendum to delete Section 36 of the Constitution Act, the principal of equalization, concurrent with the 2021 October municipal elections.”

Within a few weeks, Kenney said, Albertans learned the federal carbon tax would come into effect in January and bills C-48 and C-69 were passed.

“Albertans cannot be expected to continue to pay the freight in the Canadian confederation if the same federation continues to block our ability to develop and get a fair price for our resources,” he said.

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