Alberta's international oil exports remain subject to federal jurisdiction and federal legislation as long as Alberta remains a province.
Ottawa already has the legal power to impose a massive charge on Alberta oil exports to the United States without passing a new Act of Parliament.
Most Albertans probably have no idea this power is still sitting on Ottawa's books.
Section 5 of the federal Energy Administration Act allows the Governor in Council to impose a charge of up to $350 per cubic metre of oil exported from Canada. That works out to roughly $55.65 per barrel.
And Ottawa doesn't need Parliament to pass a brand-new law before using it.
The charge can be established by an Order in Council on the recommendation of the responsible minister and the finance minister. Even more concerning for Alberta, the Act expressly says the tariff can vary according to the kind of oil, its source and its destination.
In other words, Ottawa possesses a legislative tool capable of treating oil differently depending on where it came from and where it is going.
The province's energy relationship with the United States is its economic lifeline. If the current federal government decided to use Alberta's oil exports as leverage in a trade dispute with Washington, the legal machinery to impose an enormous export charge already exists.
This is precisely the sort of federal power that fuels Alberta's independence debate.
As long as Alberta remains a province, its international oil exports remain subject to federal jurisdiction and federal legislation. An independent Alberta would no longer simply be a "source" of Canadian oil for Ottawa to tax under this Canadian statute.
It would control its own international energy and trade policy, although independence would also require new arrangements governing pipelines and energy transiting Canadian territory.
And Ottawa should think very carefully before ever reaching for this weapon.
If Canadians think Alberta independence sentiment is strong now, imagine what would happen if Ottawa imposed a punitive charge worth tens of dollars per barrel on the province's most important export.
Ottawa can use Alberta's oil against Alberta and the United States.
The surest way for Alberta to permanently remove that particular federal power is to cease being subject to it.
And if Ottawa ever actually tries to use it, it may discover that nothing could accelerate Alberta's independence movement faster.
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