Liberal MPs spar with Scott Moe, Conservative chair over carbon tax

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OTTAWA — Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said his province had already considered alternatives to the federal carbon tax in the past, but decided against them because they were all too costly for Saskatchewan families and industries.

Moe was invited to a House of Commons committee on Wednesday to make the case for why the federal government should cancel the planned increase to the federal carbon tax on April 1 or, better yet, in his opinion, scrap the tax entirely.

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Since Jan. 1, Saskatchewan has refused to collect the federal carbon tax for natural gas and electric home heating.

The federal government has been insisting that provinces and territories are free to come up with their own system of carbon pricing if it complies with the federal benchmark in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. If it doesn’t, the federal carbon tax applies.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reiterated to premiers that his government remains “open to proposals for credible systems that price pollution that reflect the unique realities of your regions and meet the national benchmark.”

When asked by Liberal MP Charles Sousa if Saskatchewan had ever considered replacing the federal carbon tax with a system of its own, Moe answered in the affirmative.

“Yes, we did. All of them were costly to our industry, as is the federal backstop that we’re experiencing now, as well as costly to Saskatchewan families,” he said.

Sousa shot back: “It sounds like (kicking) the can down the road for the next generation to deal with. What we need is to take initiative and ensure that we are prepared to do what’s necessary for future generations.”

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Liberal MP Francis Drouin, who is parliamentary secretary to the minister of agriculture, pleaded with Moe to come up with a plan that “makes sense for Saskatchewan farmers.”

“I’m afraid that if we don’t put a price on pollution, then we are not going to be competitive in our exports market because eventually, what’s going to happen is that jurisdictions that do not have a price on pollution will be slapped with an import tariff,” said Drouin.

Moe said that the federal government should instead focus on offering global solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in more polluting nations across the world.

“If you accept the fact that climate change is real, if you accept this fact that climate change is a global challenge, not just one in Saskatchewan or even Canada for that matter, we need to work together with our national partners on achieving global solutions.”

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs are set to testify at the same committee on Thursday.

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Moe, Smith and Higgs wrote this week to the chair of the House of Commons finance committee, Liberal MP Peter Fonseca, to testify on the effects of the carbon tax increase at the start of next week and the impacts it will have on their respective provinces.

The House of Commons is on a two-week constituency break for the Easter holiday, but committees can still hold emergency meetings, such as the one Conservative MP Michael Chong requested this week to launch a study into the Winnipeg lab documents.

Fonseca said in an email that he had not received a request for an emergency meeting from members of the finance committee and that it is up to a majority of them to request one.

On Tuesday, Kelly McCauley, the Conservative MP who chairs the committee on government operations and estimates, said he would instead be extending an invitation to the premiers to testify on the carbon tax increase to appear at his own committee.

“Premiers should be welcomed before Parliamentary committees and given the opportunity to testify, especially on matters of national importance, like the April 1 carbon tax hike,” wrote McCauley in a letter shared on X.

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He added that it was “disappointing” that Fonseca had refused to recall the finance committee this week.

At the start of the meeting, Liberal MPs protested McCauley’s decision to invite the premiers to appear as witnesses without consultation from members of the committee, and said they learned about the invitation in the media the night before.

“It’s a farce and it’s a violation of the bedrock principles of the way that this committee has conducted its work over the last five years,” said Liberal MP Irek Kusmierczyk. “It is shameful and disrespectful to the work of this committee.”

His Liberal colleague, Jenica Atwin, accused McCauley of letting his “own bias” show in making the decision of letting Moe speak at the committee against the carbon tax, and pointed out some stickers on his computer that indicate his love of pipelines and oil.

“I do love oil and gas. If it bothers you, I will close my laptop,” said McCauley.

National Post
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