MOE VS TRUDEAU
Premier’s tongue stays sharp
REGINA Premier Scott Moe has escalated his rhetoric against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the same time other members of the so-called “resistance” of conservative premiers appear to be toning it down.
Moe brushed off any notion that his alliance with premiers like Brian Pallister of Manitoba and Blaine Higgs of New Brunswick is fraying in light of election results that kept the Liberals in power in Ottawa.
Higgs committed to implementing a carbon tax consistent with the federal government’s benchmark on Tuesday.
“I can’t ignore the obvious here,” Higgs said. “The country has spoken.”
While frequently invoked by Moe as an ally, Higgs was not on the famous Maclean’s magazine cover of anti-trudeau conservative premiers dubbed “the Resistance,” but Pallister was.
While he didn’t backtrack on his carbon tax opposition, Pallister did offer postelection remarks that were more conciliatory than Moe’s address, where the Saskatchewan premier said “there’s a fire burning in the Prairie provinces.”
Instead, Pallister signalled a willingness to work with a new Trudeau government. He also forcefully shot down talk of Western separatism.
“I have no time for that kind of thing,” Pallister said. “We’re going to make the country work.”
While Moe has referred to himself as a “frustrated federalist” who believes in Canada, he hasn’t dismissed or condemned the rising tide of Western alienation that crested into a surge of separatist sentiment on social media after the election results.
Moe has also doubled down on his attack on the carbon tax, calling on Trudeau on Tuesday to reverse it. He blamed the policy, in part, for the divisiveness revealed by election results that saw the Conservatives sweep Saskatchewan.
Moe said he’s spoken with Higgs since the election results. He signalled that the same concerns remain about provincial jurisdiction.
“With respect to comments by Premier Pallister and Premier Higgs yesterday, I fully respect those comments, as I believe it is in the provincial jurisdiction for them to make decisions to address climate change in the most effective way that they feel they can,” Moe said.
Higgs confirmed to Moe that he is still planning to intervene in Saskatchewan’s carbon tax appeal, according to Moe’s press secretary, Jim Billington. Billington added that Pallister has also shown no sign of dropping out.
Moe was not available for comment immediately after question period on Thursday, but Trade and Export Development Minister Jeremy Harrison took questions about separatism and Saskatchewan’s acrimonious relationship with the re-elected Liberal government.
“I’m happy to make a categorical statement saying we are not in favour of separation, period,” Harrison said.
He argued that Saskatchewan people don’t want to separate from Canada, they simply want to separate from the Liberal government.
“This is real. This is genuine. People are angry. People are frustrated,” said Harrison. “People demand change, and we saw that at the ballot box.”
Another member of the “resistance,” Premier Doug Ford of Ontario, also struck a strangely harmonious chord after the election.
But he’s also planning to continue pursuing the province’s carbon tax challenge in the courts.