Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe looks on during an interview in the cabinet room at the Saskatchewan Legislative Building in Regina, on Monday, December 18, 2023. The Saskatchewan government is set to decide whether its natural gas utility will remit carbon levies to Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Heywood Yu
REGINA – The minister responsible for Saskatchewan’s energy utility says the province will not be remitting the federal carbon levy on natural gas to Ottawa.
Premier Scott Moe has posted a video on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, of Dustin Duncan making the announcement as sleet and wind whips around him outside the Parliament Buildings.
Duncan says he made the decision after a walk in the rain – an allusion to former prime minister Pierre Trudeau purportedly deciding to resign 40 years ago after a walk in the snow.
Duncan says the move wasn’t taken lightly and the provincial government recognizes there will be consequences.
SaskEnergy is breaking federal emissions law by choosing not to remit the levy, which could result in fines or jail time for executives.
The Saskatchewan and Alberta governments have said it’s not fair Ottawa has exempted home heating oil from the carbon charge – a move that largely benefits Atlantic Canadians – and has not done the same for natural gas, used to warm homes on much of the Prairies.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Feb. 29, 2024.
