JOB 1 FOR UCP: REPEAL CARBON TAX.

Vows to enact law to control fuel flow to B.C.

OTTAWA • Premier-designate Jason Kenney will now begin a long legal fight over Ottawa’s carbon tax, one that’s expected to reach the highest court in Canada.

His argument against the federal tax, which came into effect April 1, is likely to mirror the court challenges launched by Saskatchewan and Ontario, which have questioned the constitutionality of the tax.

At his first press conference since winning office Tuesday, Kenney vowed to make the repeal of the provincial carbon tax, introduced by his NDP predecessor, the top priority when the legislature resumes in May.

The move would trigger the introduction of the federal carbon tax, which essentially acts as a backstop to any provinces that don’t have a carbon tax in place — currently Saskatchewan, Ontario, Manitoba and New Brunswick.

The federal tax is set at $20 per tonne, which translates into roughly an extra 4.4 cents per litre at the pumps in Ontario. Economists widely argue that carbon taxes are the simplest mechanism to reduce GHG emissions and are cheaper than regulations aimed at heavy emitters.

Kenney, whose United Conservative Party won a majority, said his government would also immediately enact Bill 12, NDP legislation that would allow the energy minister to turn off the province’s oil and gas taps.

During the campaign, he threatened to cut off oil to B.C. in retaliation for the province’s stand against the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

“Then we will sit down with the government of B.C. with greater strength and clarity,” he said.

In his acceptance speech Tuesday night, Kenney said Alberta has been “targeted” both by Ottawa and environmental groups, a message that taps into a deep resentment among Albertans. He hinted at a number of Ottawa policies that are seen as negative for Alberta industry, including Bill C-69 that would overhaul the review process for major projects like pipelines.

The Ontario Court of Appeal is hearing testimony this week on that province’s challenge. The Ford government is arguing the tax essentially amounts to jurisdictional overreach, which Ontario attorney Josh Hunter said on Monday could “fundamentally alter the balance of our federation.”

The arguments mirrored those made in an earlier court challenge by Saskatchewan, in which provincial lawyers argued that the federal plan unduly enforces carbon taxes as the only mechanism to fight climate change, rather than allowing provinces to pursue other avenues.

Conservative parties have increasingly looked to regulatory measures aimed at heavy emitters as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, rather than to economy-wide carbon taxes that mean higher prices for, say, gasoline and diesel.

Ottawa is arguing that the failure to enforce a backstop could simply allow provinces to avoid introducing stringent environmental policies, and therefore requires some level of federal oversight.

“We would agree with that, and in fact we would go one step further and say there is a national emergency going on with respect to climate change,” said Josh Ginsberg, Ecojustice lawyer and special counsel to the David Suzuki Foundation.

Despite Canada’s efforts to introduce tighter environment policies, the country is still set to fall short of its Paris Agreement targets set in 2016. Canada aims to cut emissions to 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030.