Moose Jaw asks feds to exempt proposed power plant from carbon tax

The mayor of Moose Jaw is calling on the federal government to exempt a proposed natural gas power plant from the new carbon tax regulations.

In December, SaskPower announced plans to build the $700-million plant, which Mayor Fraser Tolmie said was more than a year after bringing it to Ottawa’s attention.

In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau dated July 29, Tolmie asked for the plant to be grandfathered in.

“The federal government was made aware of this project in September of 2017, when initial inquiries were made to the federal government about crane/stack and transmission line applications that need to be issued by Navigation and Transport Canada. Continual communication about this project was relayed between SaskPower and the different federal government departments since that time,” Tolmie wrote.

“There has been significant time and financial investment spent on this project and the federal regulation timelines must recognize that projects already initiated, announced and in planning stages should be grandfathered as it is unreasonable to expect to continually change plans to meet changing regulations.”

On Friday, Tolmie told 980 CJME that he’s patiently waiting for summer holidays to wrap up, then — if he hasn’t received a reply — he’s “going to be knocking on doors.”

With Saskatchewan in the midst of transitioning out of coal-generated power, Tolmie argued this plant is worth the build.

“Natural gas is a much cleaner product — that’s why we’re transitioning to this. If we can’t use (coal) or (natural gas), we’re faced with challenges in providing base-line power to the province,” he explained.

“If we can’t provide power, and we’ve got to seek outside sources, then those increases in rates also go on to the rate payers — and that money could potentially go out of our province. We need to keep that money in our province.”

Tolmie said he has also reached out to the provincial government with his concerns.

Warren Michelson, the Saskatchewan Party MLA for Moose Jaw-Wakamow, has said that the province is equally committed to challenging the carbon tax regulations.

“We will do everything in our power legally to fight this tax,” Michelson told Discover Moose Jaw.

The City of Moose Jaw estimates the project will create more than 700 construction jobs while the plant is being built, and roughly another 25 full-time jobs once it’s in operation.

“We’ve obviously fought for this project, and we’re going to fight to keep it,” Tolmie said.

— With files from 980 CJME’s Nathan Meyer and Discover Moose Jaw’s Theresa Simon-Worobec