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Ottawa earns a very hollow victory

The provincial government of Saskatchewan lost their challenge of the federal carbon tax in the Saskatchewan Court of Appeals — but this was only the first round, as according to Premier Scott Moe, the Supreme Court of Canada is the next stop.

The provincial government of Saskatchewan lost their challenge of the federal carbon tax in the Saskatchewan Court of Appeals — but this was only the first round, as according to Premier Scott Moe, the Supreme Court of Canada is the next stop.
In the court’s decision, the majority of the judges sided with the federal government’s right to impose such a tax and they disagreed with Saskatchewan’s argument that it is unconstitutional.
The court said that climate change is one of the great existential issues of our time, which is true, and supporters of the carbon tax are ecstatic to have the support of the court to back the federal government’s claim to impose the “carbon pricing” legislation.
The problem has never been about supporting the environment, because this is absolutely a priority for every level of government, for every citizen living on this planet.
The problem lies with the federal government itself, and with this so-called carbon pricing action they have enacted. While the majority of the court agreed with the federal government’s right to impose the tax, they also agreed with the point that the province made that to only impose the tax on four provinces violates federalism.
The unfairness of what the federal government is doing comes down to the point that they disagree with Saskatchewan’s climate change program, simply because the province chose not to impose a punitive and regressive tax.
The provincial plan does in fact deal with greenhouse gas emissions, so it is patently ridiculous to impose the carbon tax and hurt this province’s economy, and it renders Ottawa as basically a bully with the support of the court.
The fact that the court did not render a unanimous 5-0 decision is telling that the federal government is not in fact fully in the right.
The other problem is that the federal government cannot be trusted, and this is a decision that the ultimate court arena will be rendering in October.
The government makes a big deal about the tax rebate to consumers, but what they won’t say or admit to is that the rebate doesn’t even begin to cover the extra costs to the economy. What about the hurt that the tax is going to cause to an already-hurting agricultural sector, not to mention the oil industry? What about the injuries done by the federal government’s inaction to provide any help of any kind to the oil industry? It’s a very hollow victory indeed for Ottawa to proclaim a victory in this issue.