Unilateral carbon tax may violate the constitution, Wall says during speech
TORONTO Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall renewed his attacks on the idea of a federal carbon tax Tuesday, suggesting that attempts to put a price on carbon could face legal obstacles.
“If the federal government wanted to come with some sort of unilateral carbon tax plan, we think they’re constitutionally restricted from taxing other governments,” he said following a speech on the Energy East pipeline Tuesday afternoon at the Empire Club in downtown Toronto
“In our province that would mean SaskPower and SaskEnergy.”
Wall’s comments come following reports that federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau is considering a national carbon tax. Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said part of his government’s energy policy objective is to ensure there is a minimum carbon price across the country.
Wall added that the timing for such a tax is especially bad because the energy industry has been subject to layoffs and low commodity prices.
“Imagine if in 2009 when the auto manufacturing industry was on its knees, shedding thousands of jobs and needing a direct bailout, imagine if a federal government then had proposed a new car manufacturing tax,” he said. “A carbon tax is gonna be disproportionately affecting the energy sector. Now is not the time for us to be talking about a brand new tax that would disproportionately hurt that sector.”
In front of a Bay Street audience that included potential Conservative leadership candidate Peter MacKay, Wall defended TransCanada’s proposed Energy East pipeline and addressed what he called its “entangled and protracted, interminable” approvals process.
Wall argued approving Energy East would be beneficial to Canada by getting its oil to tidewater for foreign export and to simultaneously reduce foreign dependency.
He said Irving Oil claims it will replace 50,000 barrels a day of imported oil with oil from the new pipeline, if the project ultimately goes forward. However, a 2014 assessment by a group of environmental NGOs including The Council of Canadians Environmental Defence and Équiterre, said that the vast majority of the pipeline’s oil, between an estimated 750,000 to one million barrels, would be shipped abroad.
As for the international market, Wall said opening up Canada’s energy producers to more consumers abroad would give Canada’s economy better access to different oil trading classifications.
Wall heads to Montreal on Thursday to meet with Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard. The Energy East proposal mostly hinges on the conversion of existing natural gas pipelines, however Quebec is where most of the new construction would take place. In March, the Quebec government filed an injunction against TransCanada to halt the Energy East project until it agreed to comply with provincial environmental laws.
Wall said, he believes that TransCanada has been amendable to input and that the project should move forward.