Moe seeks pause on carbon-tax imposition

He’s still reaching out to prime minister to discuss made-in-saskatchewan plan

REGINA Premier Scott Moe wants Ottawa to pause its carbon backstop while the province and the feds work together to “re-evaluate” Saskatchewan’s climate change plan.

Moe made the pitch in a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau posted on his social media accounts Thursday. He noted that Trudeau had committed to an in-person meeting “soon” at the time of their postelection telephone call last week.

Moe expressed frustration that Trudeau hasn’t yet pinned down a date to meet with him.

“We have not been able to confirm that meeting date as of yet, although we have reached out many, many, many times,” he told reporters on Thursday. “Today we are disappointed because those appear to be just words.”

In his letter on Thursday he outlined an agenda for their prospective meeting that repeated his three-point “new deal for Canada” proposal, including suspending the carbon tax, restructuring equalization and facilitating pipeline expansion.

But Thursday’s letter also suggested Moe wants to see both sides take a second look at Saskatchewan’s own plan, Prairie Resilience.

“I am asking you to place a oneyear pause on the federal backstop in Saskatchewan by removing the federal carbon tax in 2020 while Saskatchewan and federal officials work together to re-evaluate

Saskatchewan’s carbon emissions plan,” Moe wrote.

“I am confident such a re-evaluation will demonstrate that Saskatchewan is contributing to Canada meeting our Paris Accord commitments and that the federal carbon tax is not necessary in Saskatchewan.”

But Moe would not commit to making any specific concessions on Prairie Resilience when pressed by reporters, though he stressed the need for a “true negotiation.”

“What we mean when we say negotiate is to negotiate what Saskatchewan is doing,” he said. “How can we add to Canada’s commitment to a 30 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and we intend on doing that without a broad-based carbon tax.”

Canada committed to those 30 per cent reductions, relative to 2005 emissions levels, under former prime minister Stephen Harper. Trudeau recommitted to that same target as part of the Paris Climate Agreement. Moe said Saskatchewan is willing to ensure it helps meet the national target, but he also stressed that Prairie Resilience is already a “strong plan.”

“We will work with the federal government to ensure that we’re achieving that 30 per cent reduction,” he said.

Moe wouldn’t commit to accepting a fuel levy if Ottawa continues to insist upon it. Saskatchewan’s own climate plan includes a price on emissions for some industrial emitters that exceed emissions standards, but no levy on consumer fuels like gasoline and diesel.

The federal government determined the plan did not meet standards required under its Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act.

As a result, Ottawa imposed its own carbon price backstop to fill the gap. The federal fuel levy took effect in April. The price was set at $20 per tonne of emissions, and is set to rise to $30 next year.

The premier was also more specific on what he’s looking for on the equalization file. He noted that the details of who will receive equalization next year, and how much, is set to be revealed in December.

He acknowledged that it may be too late to change the formula that determines payments before then. But he asked Trudeau to commit to “reforming” the formula in 2020, and to grant Saskatchewan interim per capita payments in the meantime.

He said the current formula fails to address the “economic reality” in energy-rich provinces like Saskatchewan, Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Moe resisted the notion that he was walking back his postelection approach, in which he said there’s a fire burning on the Prairies and blamed deepening divisions on Trudeau.