National Post (National Edition)
Rancher refuses to pay Alberta carbon tax
Says no Trans Mountain, no payment
CALGARY • A woman who runs a ranch with her husband west of Calgary is refusing to pay the carbon tax, arguing the province should remove the tax after repeated setbacks to expanding the Trans Mountain pipeline.
In a tersely worded letter to Superior Propane based in Mississauga, Ont., Sheila Griffith explains that she won’t be paying the $101.90 carbon tax portion of her heating bill, addressing both Premier Rachel Notley and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about their failure to get more Alberta oil to tidewater.
“You made a deal to put the carbon tax in Alberta in exchange for the Trans Mountain pipeline going ahead,” Griffith writes to
Notley.
“The pipeline has been stalled to the point it may never be a go. Why haven’t you rescinded the carbon tax until the pipeline goes ahead? And please don’t tell me about your other alternatives like rail which are physically impossible given the amount of oil that needs to be moved — do the math.”
Griffith, who owns 50 head of cattle with her husband on their ranch near Jumping Pound about 40 minutes west of Calgary, also addresses Trudeau in the letter, saying “you spent my tax dollars buying that nonexistent line and so I personally beseech you to do whatever it takes to get the line finished so it can be sold and get our money back.
“Once the line is in and operating, oil prices will increase and people in Alberta will be working again.”
Alberta’s struggling economy has had huge impacts on farm and ranch operations, Griffith said in an interview, noting prices for feed have skyrocketed in the past year while prices for beef have gone down.
“My colleagues and I are always talking about this and people are very frustrated. We can’t wait for a new government to fix this.
“So for now, I won’t be paying carbon tax. It’s something I can do personally to take a stand.”
Griffith said since the provincial carbon tax took effect in January 2017, she has paid the bill regularly. To heat three buildings on the ranch, the family pays about $2,000 every five months to Superior Propane to refill their propane tank, including about $100 for the carbon tax.
Teresa Corsato, the company’s marketing communications manager, said until customers can show proof of an exemption, they must pay the carbon tax as part of their bill.
And if it is not paid, it appears on the next bill with a late penalty.
Griffith said she won’t face another bill until June and hopes the tax will be revoked by then by a new government.
Jason Kenney, leader of Alberta’s United Conservative Party, has vowed to implement a “carbon tax repeal act” if his party wins the provincial election expected to be called in the spring.