Trudeau wishes Moe ‘good luck’ with fight with CRA over carbon tax

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OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wished Scott Moe a sarcastic “good luck” as the Saskatchewan premier gears up for a fight with the Canada Revenue Agency over his province’s refusal to remit the federal carbon tax on natural gas.

said this week that Saskatchewan residents would continue to get their carbon rebates despite Moe’s decision to not send carbon taxes on natural gas to Ottawa, said on Wednesday that he has “faith” in the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to collect the money it is owed.

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“I don’t know about you, but having an argument with CRA about not wanting to pay your taxes is not a position I want anyone to be in. Good luck with that, Premier Moe,” he told reporters during a post-budget housing announcement in Oakville, Ont.

Trudeau insisted that the tax department is “very, very good at getting money it is owed,” whether it comes from Canadians, from businesses or even from provinces — and will take action.

“We don’t have to do anything as a federal government. The CRA is independent and will go through its proper judicial legal processes and I have no doubt it will get there eventually.”

Speaking in Edmonton on Wednesday, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh criticized Trudeau’s “divisive approach” to the climate and said it should be a “fight where we’re all united.”

“What the Liberals have done has been to sow division with their plan,” he said. “We want a plan where we bring people together … Canadians don’t want to be put in a false division between having to choose between affordability and choosing to fight the climate crisis.”

Moe announced that his province would not be collecting or submitting the carbon tax to the federal government, in protest over the exemption made to home heating oil which was widely seen as politically motived to help the Liberals gain support in Atlantic Canada.

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Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault called Moe’s decision to break the federal law “immoral” and “irresponsible” and said that measures would be taken in response to it.

The CRA was not immediately available to explain how this process would unfold in this case, but Canadians who have been in the situation of owing money to the agency know it is usually a tedious and lengthy process that they cannot escape from.

Trudeau also had tough words for Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who was captured in videos earlier this week during an impromptu meeting with a local contingent of the convoy movement which his team said happened between events in Atlantic Canada.

Poilievre was seen briefly mingling on Tuesday evening with a handful of protesters which had “F–k Trudeau” flags and “Axe the Tax” signs. He took pictures with them and told them he would axe the carbon tax because people like them “stood up and fought back.”

In another video, Poilievre can be heard saying that “everyone has been screwed over” by the carbon tax and accused Trudeau of spreading lies and peddling “bulls–t.”

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Some social media users were quick to point out that Poilievre visited their trailer which had a drawing of the flag of far-right group Diagolon on it. Poilievre has in the past slammed Diagolon founder Jeremy Mackenzie for uttering rape threats against wife Anaida Poilievre.

“Every politician has to make choices about what kind of leader they want to be,” said Trudeau.

“Are they the kind of leader that is going to exacerbate divisions, fear and polarization in our country, make personal attacks and welcome the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists? Because that’s exactly what Pierre Poilievre continues to do.”

Poilievre spokesperson Sebastian Skamski said that “if Justin Trudeau is concerned about extremism, he should look at parades on Canadian streets openly celebrating Hamas’s slaughter of Jews” during the October 7 massacre in Israel.

Trudeau also took aim at Poilievre for not denouncing American conspiracy theorist Alex Jones who recently endorsed the Conservative leader, calling him “the real deal.”

“The fact that Pierre Poilievre hasn’t stood up to condemn that endorsement, the fact that he continues to encourage the kind of divisive approaches … that I don’t think Canadians want to see, really shows that he will do anything to win,” he said.

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Skamski said that Poilievre’s team is not following Jones nor is it listening to what he has to say.

“It is the endorsement of hard working, everyday Canadians that Conservatives are working to earn. Unlike Justin Trudeau, we’re not paying attention to what some American is saying,” he said in an emailed statement.

National Post
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