Sask. outlines opposition in Court papers
Province argues ‘Ottawa knows best’ stance flies in face of the Constitution
Contending Ottawa is acting like “big brother,” the Saskatchewan government has put forward its written legal argument against a federally-imposed carbon tax.
Filed with the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal in Regina this week, the document — known as a “factum” — sets out the province’s case against having Ottawa impose a carbon tax.
At issue is whether or not the federal government can impose a carbon tax on the province, something it has vowed to do if Saskatchewan itself does not put a price on carbon.
“This case is not about the risks posed to the country by climate change. This case is not even about whether a carbon tax is a good or a bad way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that fuel climate change. This case is fundamentally about the nature of our federation,” reads the opening lines of the legal argument.
The province announced in April it would take its carbon tax fight to the province’s highest court as a reference case, meaning the court will render an advisory opinion on whether or not Ottawa’s plan is constitutional.
A date for hearing the matter has still to be set.
The factum, which sets out the points the government will argue when the matter is heard, contends the federal legislation, enacted on June 21 and allowing for the imposition of a carbon tax on provinces and territories without their own, is beyond the legal authority of the Canadian government.
The factum characterizes the federal legislation, called the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, as “unprecedented in Canadian history.”
“It represents the federal government taking a big brother or an ‘Ottawa knows best’ role which was never envisioned by the framers of our Constitution and which strikes at the very bedrock foundations of our Constitution,” states the legal document.
Because the law isn’t being applied to all province’s and territories, just those that don’t put in their own carbon tax, the factum argues the law “is constitutionally illegitimate. It fails to respect the autonomy that the provinces are guaranteed by the Constitution.”
Somewhat surprisingly, given Saskatchewan’s long-standing opposition to any form of carbon taxation, the document says the province “would have no constitutional objection if the federal government adopted a national carbon tax that applied uniformly all across the country.”
Premier Scott Moe’s office released the document on Thursday, the same day Ontario announced it would also be going to court to find out if the federal government’s law to impose a carbon tax on the province is constitutional.
“It is our position that the federal government has no constitutional authority to second guess provincial decisions with respect to matters within provincial jurisdiction, yet that is exactly what the federal government is attempting to do by imposing a carbon tax only in certain provinces, like Saskatchewan, based on their evaluation of provincial climate change and carbon pricing policies,” Moe said in a statement.
Attorney General Don Morgan said Saskatchewan, “supports Ontario in their case to challenge the federal carbon tax in court.”
This case is not even about whether a carbon tax is a good or a bad way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“Our two provinces are united in the belief that a federal carbon tax is an ineffective policy that will not significantly reduce emissions and will instead make life unaffordable for families, and that it is unconstitutional for the federal government to impose a carbon tax on certain provinces based on their evaluation of provincial climate change policies,” the statement read.