Saskatchewan can lead way on climate change

Give residents an alternative to carbon tax, Ryan Meili says.

Changes in growing seasons and moisture levels, extreme weather, floods and wildfires: the economic and human costs of climate change are already hurting Saskatchewan, and will only get worse.

When dealing with an issue of this magnitude, all options need to be on the table, which means all of the players need to be at the table. But in Canada today, one topic is taking up all of the oxygen — if not necessarily any carbon dioxide — and that’s an oversimplified debate on one approach: carbon tax.

When it comes to lowering emissions, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Scott Moe have us asking the wrong question, reducing climate change to a simple yes or no. If you don’t support the federal carbon tax, you must be a climate change denier. If you’re open to market measures like a price on carbon, you’re accused of being against the economy and the West.

We know it’s not that simple. Trudeau’s plan is one option among many. And Moe’s own carbon tax on heavy emitters, introduced last fall, shows that even the loudest objectors see a role for pricing pollution. The most important issue facing humanity today has been reduced to a political football.

The question we should be asking is how Saskatchewan can create the conditions for a strong, diversified economy while making the transition to clean energy. We need a plan to lower emissions, keep Saskatchewan people working, and protect families from increased costs. That means a plan that recognizes how farmers and ranchers contribute to carbon sequestration. It means better regulation of our biggest sources of pollution. It also means building the broad public support to actually get the job done.

The federal carbon tax fails the test, most of all in how it’s applied uniformly across the entire economy, hitting ordinary people who have little choice whether to drive or how to heat their homes. It’s particularly unfair to rural and northern families who have to travel long distances with no other transportation options. And it’s unfair because, if we’re putting a price on pollution, it’s the largest polluters who should pay the most.

And Saskatchewan people have spoken: they don’t like the federal plan, but they do want action on climate change. In a recent Abacus survey, only 32 per cent of Saskatchewan respondents selected carbon pricing as their preferred option. In the same poll, 63 per cent of Saskatchewan people rank action on climate change as a high or moderate priority, and 83 per cent supported a transition to a low-carbon economy.

So how do we reconcile these seeming polar opposites? By rejecting all-or-nothing political games and choosing a Saskatchewan solution. With our incredible opportunities in alternative energy, Saskatchewan can proudly lead the way.

Unfortunately, the Sask. Party’s record shows they don’t take climate change seriously. In 2009, they promised to reduce emissions by 20 per cent by 2020. Instead they’ve allowed them to climb by over 10 per cent. After a decade of inaction, their latest promise would decrease emissions by only 12 million tonnes per year by 2030, less than half of the 28 million tonnes Saskatchewan has committed to. And that’s if the Sask. Party actually follows through.

What’s more, Moe hasn’t even tried to negotiate an equivalency agreement, leaving us with the federal carbon tax to be imposed April 1. The province has launched a court challenge that is expected to go to the Supreme Court, which could take five years or more. We can’t let the courts delay us taking action.

The time to act is now.

Renew Saskatchewan will help families, farmers, businesses and communities make the transition to renewable energy while lowering power bills and employing thousands of Saskatchewan workers in secure, well-paying jobs. This will be accompanied by the regulation of pollutants like methane, replacement of coal-fired power stations, investments in public transportation and energy conservation, and incentive programs that make low-emission choices easier and more affordable.

Meili is leader of the Saskatchewan

New Democratic Party.

The most important issue facing humanity ... has been reduced to a political football.