Crusade against carbon tax heads west
Ford meeting premiers in Sask. and Alberta to discuss federal fight
Premier Doug Ford is on the road, taking his anti-carbon-tax message out West and meeting with like-minded provincial leaders in Saskatchewan and Alberta.
After a meeting with Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe on Thursday, Moe announced he would join Ontario’s challenge of the federal government’s right to impose a carbon pricing scheme on provinces that don’t devise their own.
Ford had already pledged — back in July at an annual meeting of premiers, held in New Brunswick — to support Saskatchewan’s ongoing court case.
“The one issue Ontario and Saskatchewan are most closely aligned on is the fight against the Trudeau Liberal carbon tax,” Ford said at a joint press conference held in Saskatoon.
“It is the worst possible tax for Canadian economies and for Canadian families. It has nothing to do with the environment.”
Shortly after taking office, Ford cancelled Ontario’s capand-trade system — which forced big polluters to purchase carbon “credits” that could be sold if their emissions came in lower than required — but has yet to announce a replacement climate-change plan.
Ford also noted Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister is also now abandoning his province’s plans to comply with Ottawa.
“We are going to stand united,” Ford also said. “Not just for Saskatchewan and Ontario, but our whole country” he added, calling carbon taxes “job killing” and “family hurting.”
Moe said the federal government needs to hold off on plans to impose carbon-pricing schemes it doesn’t approve of, saying Ottawa should wait for the court cases to be heard.
At Queen’s Park on Thursday, Todd Smith, minister of government and consumer service, said “we have a growing alliance of people that support our stance that a carbon tax is not a good thing for the economy and that it is a regressive, job-killing tax.
“You’re now starting to see a lot of other provinces say ‘yes, we are going to stand up for the people in our province, too.’ So that alliance is growing and certainly the premier is out there talking with other premiers and other ministers about the options that are available,” said Smith, who is also the government house leader.
He said the cost of the legal challenges are worth it. “What we are doing is in the best interests of the people of Ontario,” he said. “If we can spend some money now to get the best result of the people of Ontario, and ultimately Canada, then we are going to do that.”
Ford is also travelling to Calgary to meet with Jason Kenney, leader of the United Conservative Party, and attend an anticarbon-tax rally. He will speak at the party’s “Scrap the Carbon Tax” event Friday with Kenney, whose party is the official opposition in Alberta.