The provincial government asks the Court of Appeal to rule on whether the federal carbon tax plan is constitutional
There is widespread support from the rural and agricultural communities for Saskatchewan’s decision to challenge a federal carbon tax in court.
The province launched its constitutional reference case April 25, asking the Court of Appeal to answer a specific question: “The Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act was introduced into Parliament on March 28, 2018, as Part 5 of Bill C-74. If enacted, will this Act be unconstitutional in whole or in part?”
There is debate as to whether the province can win its fight but Premier Scott Moe said he is willing to take it to the Supreme Court of Canada if necessary.
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He said Ottawa’s decision to impose a federal carbon backstop on some provinces but not others “fails to respect the sovereignty and autonomy of the provinces with respect to matters under their jurisdiction.
“Saskatchewan should not be subject to the tax simply because the Trudeau Liberals do not like our climate change plan.”
Justice Minister Don Morgan said the federal legislation is structured to allow Ottawa to charge each province differently.
“We recognize the federal government’s right to levy a tax but the intention of Bill C-74 is to levy a different rate on different provinces depending on the federal government’s view of the province’s level of support for their particular climate change plan,” Morgan said. “We think that breaches any sense of federalism.”
Moe noted that several provinces aren’t meeting the federal requirements but Saskatchewan is being punished because it is the only one that hasn’t signed the pan-Canadian framework.
The province has long said it would challenge the imposition of a tax but it waited until the legislation was tabled to make its final decision.
Various organizations have come out in support of the move and said they prefer the province’s made-in-Saskatchewan approach. Farmers say a carbon tax will make them less competitive.
“Saskatchewan growers are the most efficient, productive and environmentally friendly growers in the world,” said Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association president Levi Wood. “Our farms are our livelihood, our legacy and we have focused on sustainable crops for generations. For far too many years growers have been guilty of not tooting our own horn and now the federal government is attempting to force a carbon tax on us, raising our costs and impacting middle-income farmers.”
The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan said a carbon tax does not work for agriculture.
“Producers are not able to pass along increased costs of production to our customers, we use every possible technology to reduce our energy costs and the federal government have not been very clear on their understanding of this basic agricultural economic reality,” said APAS president Todd Lewis.
“Current federal carbon backstop legislation would only apply to a handful of provinces but would impact 40 percent of Canada’s farmland here in Saskatchewan.”
Saskatchewan argues that its ability to sequester millions of tonnes of carbon is not recognized in the federal plan.
During an agriculture ministry estimates debate April 24, Minister Lyle Stewart said that because the federal government is using a 2005 baseline, and minimum tillage practices were in place before that, farmers aren’t getting credit.
“We’re doing the best job of any province I think in the country of mitigating our emissions through sequestration. So, we’re a square peg in a round hole. We deserve a lot of credit but we’re never going to get it from them,” he said.
Stewart also said the federal government is using old data that suggests grassland reaches a sequestration limit and then doesn’t store any more carbon.
“Our scientists believe that — and we hope to have some numbers this spring to prove it — that grassland continues to build soil through sequestering carbon and of course through decaying plant material year over year over year, and that continues to sequester more carbon.”
The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities also reiterated its support for the province’s Prairie Resilience plan and said a tax isn’t an effective tool to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Support has also come from the Conservative leaders in Ontario and Alberta. Doug Ford and Jason Kenney both say they would fight against a tax if they are elected.
