REGINA – Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says his government was taken by surprise by federal legislation that calls for imposing a carbon tax on the province.
Moe says the federal Liberals didn’t give Saskatchewan any notice of the bill that was introduced Tuesday in Ottawa.
He says he is not aware of the details of the federal legislation but reiterated that his government plans to challenge it in court.
Saskatchewan is the only province that has refused to sign the federal Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change.
The federal government has said that means the province won’t receive up to 62 million dollars for emissions-reduction programs.
Moe says the Liberal plan to impose a carbon tax on Saskatchewan is “underhanded” because it is buried in a 556-page omnibus bill.
“We will be moving with our reference case to the court of appeal here in the province of Saskatchewan in the coming weeks,” Moe said Wednesday.
“A carbon tax just simply does not work. Nowhere in the world does a carbon tax actually reduce emissions.”
The Trudeau government has said since the carbon tax is a levy, the budget omnibus bill properly addresses it. (CTV Regina, CJME, The Canadian Press)