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It must be the first time-travel lawsuit in Alberta history — one government suing a non-existent government 16 years after the fact.

That is what the NDP government is doing in its legal fight involving Alberta’s big power companies and $2 billion in electricity contracts.

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It is suing the Alberta government for entering into the contracts in 2000. Yes, this is the Alberta government suing the Alberta government.

At least, that’s how it is legally.

But politically speaking, it is not the NDP government suing itself. It is the NDP government suing the PC government of 2000.

The government is going to court to overturn the contracts — called power purchase arrangements, or PPAs, introduced by the Progressive Conservative government of Ralph Klein in 2000.

You’ve probably already heard about the kerfuffle involving PPAs and the “Enron clause” and the “balancing pool.”

If you haven’t, I envy you your bliss.