We will always fight Trudeau’s carbon tax.
This week, the government of Saskatchewan will have our day in court against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s imposition of the carbon tax.
As premier, it’s my responsibility to stand up for Saskatchewan people — the parents driving their kids to the rink or dance practice, our farmers and ranchers working to feed the world, our small business owners looking to serve our communities, and everyone heating their homes during our frigid winters. Trudeau’s carbon tax will make all of these tasks more expensive, without significantly reducing emissions.
Worse yet, Trudeau’s carbon tax is unconstitutional and fails to respect the sovereignty and autonomy of provinces for matters that fall within our jurisdiction.
Trudeau’s proposal violates the principles of federalism spelled out in Canada’s constitution by selectively applying the carbon tax on provinces where a federal benchmark is not met. Constitutionally, Ottawa could decide to impose a national carbon tax similar to the GST, applied uniformly across all provinces. Instead, it has violated the constitution by selectively applying the carbon tax across our nation. By this same logic, this flawed taxation power would give the federal government the ability to impose a provincial sales tax on a province that doesn’t have one, like Alberta, or create a new tax just for one province.
The federal government’s proposal also applies detailed emission limits for various industries, including heavy-oil upgraders, steel manufacturers and potash mines. These regulations encroach on the provincial responsibility of regulating these industries.
As is our jurisdiction, Saskatchewan has put forward our own comprehensive, innovative climate change plan. The plan, called “Prairie Resilience,” will reduce emissions from the electricity sector by 40 per cent and reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by 40 per cent by 2030. Under this plan, our industries remain competitive and are not subjected to the damaging effects of a carbon tax.
Saskatchewan is serious about tackling emissions, and we recognize that global greenhouse gas emissions will continue to rise without innovation and action. We need not look further than our industries that are already innovating and working toward solutions. Our agriculture industry sequesters nearly 12 million tonnes of CO2 annually, with zero-till farming technology already in use on more than 70 per cent of our agricultural land. We are working to significantly increase our renewable electricalgenerating capacity and our world-leading carbon capture and storage (CCS) project at Boundary Dam 3 has prevented more than two-million tonnes of carbon dioxide from entering our atmosphere. Saskatchewan and Canada can make important contributions to climate change efforts, but a carbon tax is not the answer.
Saskatchewan is joined by Ontario, Manitoba and New Brunswick in opposition to this tax and an Angus Reid Institute poll showed Saskatchewan has strong support for our decision to take the Trudeau government to court. Eighty-eight per cent of people in Saskatchewan and 72 per cent of all Canadians support our government’s decision to fight the carbon tax in court. Almost two-thirds of Canadians also said they believe provinces should have the final say on carbon pricing and not be forced to take Ottawa’s plan.
While lawyers and judges gather in a courtroom in Saskatchewan this week, the majority of Canadians that oppose a carbon tax will be watching. There are some (like Saskatchewan’s opposition NDP) who call our court challenge of the carbon tax a pointless crusade and believe we should simply give in to the federal government’s demands. To them I say our province will never stand down in our opposition to the Trudeau carbon tax. There is just too much to lose.
TRUDEAU’S CARBON TAX VIOLATES THE PRINCIPLES OF FEDERALISM.