Moe ready to begin court fight against carbon tax

The Saskatchewan government’s court fight against a federally imposed carbon tax is set to get underway this month.

In an interview on Gormley Wednesday, Premier Scott Moe said the legal process will begin with the government submitting a reference case to the provincial Court of Appeal “in the coming weeks.”

Submissions will be made to the courts, the court will then issue an opinion or reference based on those submissions. Depending on the outcome of that reference, the government might have to take its case to the Supreme Court of Canada.

If the case goes that route, Moe and his government hope to delay any decision coming from Ottawa until the case is wrapped up.

“That will be the intent,” Moe said. “We’ll be looking likely for some provinces to intervene on the basis of the infringement of this carbon tax, but also on the basis that this is a very slippery slope as you have a federal government starting to impose itself into areas that are traditionally provincial jurisdiction in nature, like natural resource regulations.”

Saskatchewan has seen an increase in carbon emissions in recent years.

Moe said there is a plan in place to tackle those issues and reduce emissions by 2030.

“We’ll continue to work towards what we can contribute to that Paris Accord. We will not be taxing our industries and pushing people out of the province,” Moe said.

Moe also hinted that other premiers across the country might be looking at a carbon tax differently in the next year.

Premier Kathleen Wynne in Ontario and Premier Rachel Notley in Alberta are up for re-election this year and both will have to face opponents who are against the carbon tax.

“It’s a very slippery slope when it comes to this type of action by the federal government. We will work closely with whoever wants to join our case,” the premier said.

The federal government has set a deadline for all provinces to submit a carbon tax by September, those that don’t comply will have one imposed.