The war of words over the price of pollution reached a new level this week when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe that the Canada Revenue Agency will be knocking on his door, seeking the province’s remittances. of federal support, after Moe stopped collecting the carbon tax on natural gas or home heating.
“Good luck, Prime Minister Moe, the CRA is an independent organization that is very, very good at getting money that Canadians owe to businesses, and now to the provinces, if necessary,” Trudeau told reporters in a news conference Wednesday, after promising that Saskatchewan residents would continue to receive the Canada Carbon Rebate.
In October 2023, Premier Moe announced that his government would stop collecting and remitting the carbon tax on certain forms of energy, after the federal government instituted a three-year exemption for home heating oil. That fuel is mainly used in Atlantic Canada and was seen as a political exception for that region of the country.
In February, the Saskatchewan government confirmed it would be recognized as the individual natural gas supplier by the Canada Revenue Agency. By failing to collect and remit the carbon tax, the province is violating the law and risking fines or legal repercussions.
In an email to CTV News in response to Trudeau’s warning, Moe’s office said the province has “remitted the appropriate amount of carbon tax to the federal government.”
“We will dispute any action by the CRA to levy an additional carbon tax and will defend Saskatchewan’s interests as necessary,” the premier’s spokesperson, Julie Leggott, added in an email.
The Canada Revenue Agency has not responded to CTV News’ request for comment on how the organization intends to collect the province’s money, but there appears to be another way the federal government could sue the province.
Buried on page 408 of the federal budget is a proposal to amend the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act to give federal officials, such as the Minister of National Revenue, the power to inform the public when a province is not complying with the federal pollution pricing system. .
For months, several premiers have expressed opposition to the federal price on pollution imposed on those jurisdictions that did not have one of their own or whose plans did not meet the federal government’s standard. In light of the latest standoff between Moe and Trudeau, questions have been raised about whether other provinces could follow suit and stop charging the carbon tax on home heating, and still see their residents reimbursed.
CTV News launched a nationwide network to ask provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador) that have asked the federal government to suspend or eliminate the federal income tax. carbon. We learned that not everyone can stop collecting the tax for federal support. This is why.
alberta
“We don’t have that chance,” Premier Danielle Smith said in October 2023 when asked if she would follow Premier Moe.
Alberta can’t do that because that province has a private energy market, meaning private operators pay the tax directly to the federal government. Smith has said he will not ask private sector operators to not comply with the law.
“Alberta stands with Saskatchewan and Premier Scott Moe in their fight against the unfair and unconstitutional application of the carbon tax on specific regions and fuels,” Premier Smith’s press secretary Sam Blackett wrote in an email.
ontario
The province of Ontario is in a similar situation to Alberta, where energy for heating homes is supplied by private companies. The premier’s media relations director, Doug Ford, told CTV News that Ontario would never ask private companies to violate federal law.
“The federal government should just do the right and fair thing and eliminate the carbon tax across the board,” said Caitlin Clark.
New Scotland
Nova Scotia Minister of Environment and Climate Change Timothy Halman strongly opposes the federal price on pollution, but noted that, like other provinces, the tax is paid by private natural gas companies. As a result, the province has no role in collecting the carbon tax on natural gas.
In a statement, Halman noted his government’s greenhouse gas reduction goal contained in a policy called “Even Better Than a Carbon Tax Plan.” Among other things, the policy calls for phasing out coal-fired electricity generation and for 80 per cent of Nova Scotia’s power to be supplied by renewables by 2030.
Prince Edward Island
While Premier Dennis King has opposed the federal carbon tax, his government will not follow Premier Moe’s lead.
In a statement to CTV News, Emily Blue from the premier’s office said, “This is not something PEI is considering at this time.”
Newfoundland and Labrador
The only Liberal prime minister to call for stopping the carbon tax reiterated that position earlier this month in a letter to Trudeau. Andrew Furey wrote: “We need a constructive approach to decarbonizing our environment without placing the burden on individual families who simply do not have viable alternative options.”
When asked if Newfoundland and Labrador would follow Saskatchewan, Furey’s communications director Meghan McCabe told CTV News in a statement: “Premier Furey has been clear that the carbon tax is not the right instrument to mitigate the impact of climate change right now in our province, and continues to call on the federal government to adjust its policy.”
New Brunswick
Officials in Premier Blaine Higgs’ office did not respond to CTV News’ request for comment.