Sask. premier says change in federal government the only way to solve carbon tax dispute

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said Thursday that the dispute between several provinces and the federal government over Ottawa's carbon pricing plan likely won't end without a change in the federal government.

Moe and six other premiers have called for a halt to the planned increase to Ottawa's carbon pricing plan — to $80 per tonne from $65 — scheduled for April 1.

After question period in the Saskatchewan Legislature on Thursday, Moe was asked how the relationship between the federal government and the provinces can be mended.

He said that Saskatchewan and Ottawa have been able to find common ground on certain topics, such as the Canada Health Transfer or $10-a-day child care. That's not the case on carbon pricing.

"On this particular topic, it's going to take a change of government and I think Canadians ultimately are going to have a say at the polls," Moe said.

Premiers call for end to carbon pricing

It's another bold statement from Moe, who appeared in front of the federal government operations and estimates committee Wednesday and called for the entire carbon pricing program to be scrapped.

WATCH | Sask. Premier Moe speaks on carbon tax during federal committee meeting: 

Sask. Premier Moe speaks on carbon tax during federal committee meeting

8 months ago

Duration 2:07

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe appeared during a meeting of the federal standing committee on government operations and estimates Wednesday. He called for the federal government to pause the coming increase in the carbon tax.

On Thursday, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs appeared in front of the same committee and echoed that call.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has challenged the premiers unhappy with the carbon increase to come up with a solution of their own.

Moe, Smith and Higgs have offered the same solution: an alternative greenhouse gas emissions reduction policy that is based on Article 6 of the Paris climate change agreement.

That article would allow countries to voluntarily work together to transfer carbon credits earned in one country to another country to help them meet their climate change targets, providing none of the emissions are double-counted.

Moe said the effects of inflation being felt across the country make the impending increase of carbon pricing unacceptable.

"Our stance is to remove the consumer carbon tax on everything for everyone," Moe said.

"Whether we implement that cost or whether the federal government implements that cost doesn't change anything, and doesn't achieve what our goal and what our target is."

Carbon pricing

The federal carbon price on fuel, or carbon backstop, applies to Alberta, New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Nunavut and Yukon.

The price on carbon is applied to emitting fuels through fuel charge rates that vary based on the amount of CO2-equivalent emissions a fuel generates when burned.

WATCH | Trudeau accuses conservative premiers of misleading Canadians about the carbon tax: 

Trudeau accuses conservative premiers of misleading Canadians about the carbon tax

8 months ago

Duration 3:33

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says conservative premiers and politicians would rather 'complain, and attack and mislead Canadians' for political gain than come up with their own approach to pricing pollution and fighting climate change.

Federal carbon pricing does not apply in Quebec, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories because they have their own carbon pricing systems that meet the federal standard.

Approximately 90 per cent of the federal government revenues from carbon pricing are returned to households through a rebate program. The other 10 per cent is directed to programs to help businesses, schools, municipalities and other grant recipients reduce their fossil fuel consumption.

Energy minister pushes back

Federal Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson was in Regina on Thursday.

He brought up the federal carbon pricing scheme, pushing back against Moe and other premiers calling for the end to the program.

Wilkinson said Moe and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre would do away with the carbon rebate.

"The only folks who actually end up paying more than they receive in the benefit are people who live in a 6,000-square-foot home, who have a Hummer in their driveway and a boat in their backyard," Wilkinson said.

"And you know what? They should pay more. They are polluting far more."

It's a statement largely backed up by assessments from the Parliamentary Budget Office, which has consistently found that nearly all households receive more from the carbon tax rebate than they pay in direct and indirect costs.

Wilkinson also took aim at Moe and the Saskatchewan government for no longer remitting the federal carbon levy on natural gas.

"Premier Moe has taken this discussion to another level by deciding that he essentially is above the law, that he can determine which laws he will abide by and which he will not," said Wilkinson.

"I'm not sure how, going forward, he will have the moral authority to tell and expect folks who live in this province to obey the laws that he passes through the provincial legislature."