Murray Wood: Who's scary... and who's scary good?
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The Government of Saskatchewan has chafed for years under federal environmental regulations, and on Tuesday, it officially announced it would be stepping out from under some.
The provincial government said it will not abide by the federal Clean Energy Regulations, which would have the country’s electricity grid at net zero by 2035. Instead, the province will stick to its own plan to get to net zero on electricity by 2050.
This was announced in conjunction with the public release of the Saskatchewan Economic Impact Assessment Tribunal’s assessment of the regulations, comparing them to Saskatchewan’s 2050 plan.
Justice Minister Bronwyn Eyre said the report shows the economic impact on Saskatchewan and its unique characteristics.
“Before you go down any road, or it’s determined that you go down a road, or mandated that you are to go down a road, I think it would be obvious that it’s in everyone’s best interest to know the cost,” explained Eyre.
The report shows the federal regulations would mean billions of dollars less in economic growth and exports for the province between 2025 and 2035, as well as thousands fewer jobs compared to the Saskatchewan plan. It also talked about the impact in dollars to residential and commercial SaskPower customers.
Dustin Duncan, the minister responsible for SaskPower, said the report from the tribunal confirms what the provincial government has been telling the federal government all along – that the regulations are untenable and unaffordable.
“The rate hikes necessary to comply with federal regulations will erode the viability of our industries, impact employment across all sectors, and disproportionately harm lower-income households,” said Duncan.
He said getting to net zero by 2050 will already be hard work, but for a province like Saskatchewan which doesn’t have the non-emitting power resources other provinces do, the cost of the 2035 plan doesn’t work.
“Our ratepayers can’t bear that cost, our economy can’t bear that cost, and just from a technological perspective it’s just not feasible for us,” said Duncan.
The minister said it’s not about the goal of net zero, the problem has always been the timeline.
“Saskatchewan’s electrical power grid was built out over the last 90 years, if the proposed Clean Electricity Regulations were to come into effect in 2035 it means that in just 10 years we would have to expand, replace and rebuild the majority of the publicly owned grid to meet the regulatory requirements being imposed on us,” explained Duncan.
Not only does the federal plan put Saskatchewan in a difficult economic position, according to Eyre, the provincial government doesn’t believe the federal government is on the right side of the constitution.
She said the federal government doesn’t have jurisdiction over provincial industries like electricity, and thus doesn’t have the power to make regulations around it. She said the carbon tax reference case, which the Saskatchewan government lost, revolved around national carbon price stringency.
“That Supreme Court decision did not give the federal government free reign to intervene in or regulate specific provincial sectors, that was explicit,” said Eyre.
She said a federal entity having the power to go into facilities and physically shut them down is not how the federation works.
“Provinces have a right to fight back and when they do, and when they have, it’s made a difference,” said Eyre.
The minister said the federal government will have to prove the constitutionality of the regulations before they can be imposed on Saskatchewan. But when asked whether this will go to court, Eyre didn’t give a yes or no, just saying the province is secure in its constitutional arguments and repeating the government’s position that electricity is outside federal jurisdiction.
Duncan said he hopes the report from the tribunal is further information for the federal government, and he hopes it will stop trying to tweak the Clean Energy Regulations and just start over instead.
