‘More effective than a carbon tax:’ Saskatchewan digs in heels on climate change
MOOSE JAW, Sask. — The Saskatchewan government is doubling down on its climate change strategy and continues to defy Ottawa’s demand it put a broad-based price on carbon emissions.
Environment Minister Dustin Duncan said Wednesday the province is expanding emission limits based on production for facilities such as potash mines and pulp mills. Those facilities generate 11 per cent of the province’s emissions.
“We’ve made it clear that the federal carbon tax is ineffective and will not reduce emissions in Saskatchewan and we’ve made it clear that we do not believe the federal government has constitutional authority to implement a backstop in Saskatchewan,” Duncan said.
The federal climate plan calls for taxes of greenhouse gas emissions starting at $10 per tonne this year and rising $10 a year to $50 a tonne in 2022. It leaves it to the provinces to decide how to do that either through a tax, a cap-and-trade system or have a price imposed by Ottawa.