‘This does not make sense’: Moe
Premier willing to take carbon tax fight to Supreme Court, if necessary
Saskatchewan is going to court to find out if the federal government’s law to impose a carbon tax on the province is constitutional.
The long expected move was announced Wednesday, with the provincial government bringing a constitutional reference case to the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal.
At issue is whether the federal government can impose a carbon tax on the province, something it has vowed to do if Saskatchewan does not put a price on carbon itself.
The federal Liberal government’s Greenhouse Pollution Pricing Act was introduced in Parliament on March 28. Less than a month later — and before it has become a law — Saskatchewan is moving on its constitutional question.
Saskatchewan is arguing the proposed bill can be challenged because it only imposes a carbon tax on some provinces, based on whether or not a provincial government is pricing carbon or doing it in a way that’s satisfactory to the federal government.
At issue for the province is what it characterizes as a lack of uniformity in the way in which an imposed carbon tax would be applied.
“A tax is simply a tax. The GST has got a fixed rate all the way across Canada. It’s clear and unambiguous,” said Saskatchewan Attorney General Don Morgan. “For them to do something where there are a variety of different things available for different provinces based on their approval of certain other methods, is something we do not think falls within the ability to tax and is not consistent with any form of federalism.”
The province is also claiming the federal government does not have the right to override provincial authority in an area over which Saskatchewan has jurisdiction.
“This does not make sense according to our Canadian Constitution, and fails to respect the sovereignty and autonomy of the provinces with respect to matters under their jurisdiction,” said Premier Scott Moe, who vowed to put the “full weight” of the province during the court proceedings and take the matter to the Supreme Court if needed.
Saskatchewan also argues its own climate change plan — known as Prairie Resilience — is “broader and bolder” than a carbon tax, capable of more aggressively reducing emissions while not reducing the province’s competitiveness.
Environment Minister Dustin Duncan said the federal plan to reduce emissions is “inadequate.”
The Sask. Party government says it expects other provinces to intervene in the case, which could include Manitoba — a province that originally held out on supporting a carbon tax, but did so after receiving a legal opinion suggesting a court challenge would fail. Manitoba now has its own carbon tax, at a flat rate of $25 per tonne.
Industry groups, including the Saskatchewan Mining Association and the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, are endorsing the challenge. Such groups, as well as municipalities, could also seek intervener status.
The federal government is expected to review details of each province’s carbon pricing plans in September. Those with plans deemed inadequate would be subject to the federal backstop carbon tax, starting in 2019. The federal tax calls for a price on carbon at $20 per tonne in 2019, increasing by $10 per tonne annually to $50 per tonne in 2022.
Saskatchewan’s government is hoping to have a decision from the Court of Appeal before the backstop comes into effect.
Opposition NDP Leader Ryan Meili said the move was a “desperate, 11th hour challenge.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters Wednesday there are, “Still people out there who think there is a choice to be made between what is good for the environment and good for the economy. We know that Canadians expect us to do both together and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”
B.C., Alberta, Ontario and Quebec are pricing carbon right now; but conservative politicians in Alberta and Ontario have vowed to cancel those plans if elected.
A legal challenge to the carbon tax has been threatened by Saskatchewan for almost two years. In October 2016, Moe — who at the time was the province’s environment minister — walked out of a meeting with the federal government over the matter.
The province questioning the legality of the law comes on the heels of B.C.’s NDP government promising its own constitutional challenge, over Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project, before the end of April.
That province’s premier, John Horgan, is concerned the federal government is overreaching and threatening federalism by approving the province and forcing it ahead.
The Constitutional Questions Act allows the government to seek advice from the appeal court on the constitutionality of proposed legislation.