Provincial residents caught in carbon-tax crossfire

Alan Holman says the carbon rebate he gets four times a year from the federal government is crucial for his household budget.

Without the funds, the Saskatoon resident, who is on disability assistance, says he'll have to scale back on spending for his everyday needs.

“It gets plugged in with the rest of my money for whatever's on my list,” Holman said in an interview.

“I'm kind of a little screwed if I don't get the rebate.”

Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said last week that Ottawa will no longer be giving the rebates to Saskatchewan residents because Premier Scott Moe's government is refusing to remit the federal levy on natural gas.

Moe quickly shot back on social media, threatening that the province won't pay the levy on everything else — gasoline, diesel, propane — if residents don't get the rebates.

Moe announced in October that Saskenergy would stop collecting the carbon price from natural gas customers beginning in 2024. The province had until the end of February to remit those dollars and confirmed Thursday it wouldn't be sending the money to Ottawa.

Dustin Duncan, the minister responsible for Saskenergy, has said it's about fairness, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has refused to exempt natural gas from the carbon charge like he did with home heating oil, a move that largely benefits Atlantic Canadians.

In Regina, researcher Cheryl Camillo said she gets more in rebates than what she pays in levies. And she's concerned not paying the carbon charge will mean less government spending to lower emissions. “I'm happy to pay,” she said. “For me, it's probably less than $1,000 per year in carbon tax. But if you're going to take money out of my pocket and take the rebate out of my pocket and not do anything to fight (climate change), I have strong objections.”