Feds tout carbon tax verdict win, opposition snaps back

Ottawa is hailing the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal’s decision in favour of the federal carbon tax a victory for future generations of Canadians.

Federal Public Safety Minister and Regina MP Ralph Goodale said, considering the federal government’s confidence in its legal position, the verdict didn’t come as a surprise.

“We were very clear from the very beginning that the proposal was within the law and within the constitution very clearly, and the court has ruled that,” he said in an interview Friday afternoon.

Goodale added the feds are pleased the province’s highest court determined that climate change is real and it’s being fuelled by human behaviour, and that a form of pollution pricing is an effective and cost-effective way to deal with it.

He said it shows more than ever that the province needs to unite with the federal government to fight climate change.

“We need to work together in as positive and collegial way as we possibly can to deal with the problem of climate change because it has very real consequences,” Goodale explained, listing the current floods out east and the recent wildfires across Saskatchewan as examples.

When it comes to the upcoming federal election, he admitted the implementation of a carbon tax on provinces that rejected it “may very well” be an issue, among many, on the forefront.

“The (Liberal government) will have to be very clear that this is, in fact, putting money into the pockets of Saskatchewan people — not taking money out,” Goodale elaborated.

This year, the average family in Saskatchewan is expected to pay around $400 in carbon-tax costs, such as fuel, natural gas and power bills.

At tax time, Goodale said the average family should get about $600 back, working out to roughly a $200 profit.

“That calculation is not some academic study — that’s actually confirmed by the parliamentary budget officer, a totally independent officer of parliament who’s done the arithmetic,” he stressed.

Over the next six months, Goodale said the Liberal government needs to do a better job at communicating that to Canadians.

However, the federal government’s numbers aren’t good enough for Conservative opposition leader Andrew Scheer.

“Justin Trudeau pretends he has a plan for climate change and that his carbon tax will achieve Canada’s emissions reductions targets under the Paris Accord, but his own government’s figures confirm that isn’t true,” Scheer wrote in an emailed statement after the verdict came down. “The Liberal carbon tax isn’t a plan to lower emissions, it’s just another cash grab which is hurting already over taxed Canadians.”

Scheer’s statement went on to say that his “first action as Prime Minister will be to scrap Justin Trudeau’s carbon tax and help Canadians get ahead.”