On February 29 the Saskatchewan government, which has already stopped collecting federal carbon tax on home heating, announced it would not be remitting that share of the tax to the federal government.
Sask Minister walks in Ottawa snow and refuses to pay carbon tax | Western Standard | Shaun Polczer:
February 29, 2024 - "[O]n February 29, ... Saskatchewan’s Crown Corporations Minister Dustin Duncan stood in front of a sleet covered Parliament building to announce the province wouldn’t be remitting the province’s share of Ottawa’s carbon tax ahead of a March 1 deadline.
"'I took a walk in the rain and made an important decision about the carbon tax,” Duncan said in a recorded message posted on Twitter ('X') on Thursday, in an oblique reference to Trudeau Sr.’s famous ‘walk in the snow' declaration on February 29, 1984. 'Today, I’m announcing that in addition to not collecting the carbon tax on SaskEnergy bills, the Government of Saskatchewan will not be remitting the federal carbon tax on natural gas Saskatchewan families use to heat their homes,' he stated. 'This is a decision that we do not take lightly and we recognize that it may come with consequences.'
"Saskatchewan officially stopped collecting the federal carbon tax on home heating effective January 1, in response to the Liberal government’s decision to exempt home heating oil in Atlantic Canada. But it wasn’t clear if it would remit the outstanding funds for the month to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) by the March 1 deadline.... Saskatchewan government officials, including Premier Scott Moe, proclaimed they would be willing to go to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s 'carbon jail' for withholding the funds.... [T]he Saskatchewan government on February 21 declared itself the province’s ‘singular’ natural gas distributor in order to indemnify individual SaskEnergy employees from penalty.
"The Saskatchewan treasury claims the move has saved families $400 thus far in 2024 and shaved nearly a full percentage point off the province’s inflation rate, which stands as one of the lowest in the country."
Saskatchewan won't remit carbon tax to Ottawa, defying federal law | Power & Politics | CBC News | :
Guilbeault brands Moe ‘immoral’ for breaking carbon law; vows to take unspecified ‘measures’ | Western Standard | Shaun Polczer:
March 5, 2024 - "Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe may be headed for the carbon clink.... Barely a week after the province said it would refuse to collect — or remit — the share of federal carbon tax on home heating bills, federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault branded the Saskatchewan leader’s actions 'immoral' and “unspeakable' ... even 'criminal,' vowing unspecified 'measures' to enforce compliance.
“'If Premier Scott Moe decides that he wants to start breaking laws and not respecting federal laws, then measures will have to be taken,' Guilbeault said at a press conference in response to a question from a reporter. 'We can't let that happen. What if somebody tomorrow decides that they don’t want to respect other federal laws, criminal laws? What would happen then if a prime minister, a premier of a province, would want to do that?' he went on. 'It's irresponsible and it's frankly immoral on his part. We can have disagreements about things like climate change, but to be so reckless is unspeakable, really.'
"Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson [has] threatened to withhold carbon tax rebates for Saskatchewan residents that would amount to around $1,600 for a family of four. But Moe said withholding the tax saved them $400 In January alone. However those threats were nothing compared to Guilbeault’s comments, which struck an ominous tone that he may indeed be prepared to arrest provincial politicians on criminal charges.
"It’s a dramatic escalation that confirms the worst fears of politicians such as Alberta Premier Danielle Smith who has long insisted the Liberal government’s carbon policies could result in prison for government and other officials who refuse to comply with its clean energy regulations. Smith has vowed to indemnify officials and power producers to increase baseline natural gas fired power on the Alberta grid, which is what the Saskatchewan government essentially did last month when it declared itself the sole natural gas distributor in the province to protect SaskEnergy employees for not collecting the tax."
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