There will be no soup for Saskatchewan residents in the form of carbon tax rebates.That’s the word from federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson who said the Liberal government will withhold carbon rebate cheques in response to Saskatchewan’s decision not to remit the federal portion on home heating to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)."They will no longer get the rebate," he told The Canadian Press. "The rebate actually provides more money for most families in Saskatchewan.And indeed, his comments sparked an immediate and angry war of words with the Saskatchewan government.After the tax goes up on April 1 of this year, a family of four would have been eligible for up to $1,804.80 in rural areas, and $1,504 in urban settings.But Wilkinson said it’s pretty difficult to pay dollars that aren’t collected.The Saskatchewan government is technically breaking federal emissions law by choosing not to remit the tax money it would have collected on behalf of Ottawa ahead of todays deadline, which could result in fines or jail time for executives.Wilkinson said Saskatchewan's move is “reckless,” after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled the federal government has the constitutional authority to put a price on carbon.But Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said Thursday the Liberals’ carve out for home heating oil consumers in Atlantic Canada is proof the tax isn’t being equally or fairly applied across all regions of the country..“I’m not going to speculate about what the next steps are,”Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson.In response, Moe fired off an angry response of his own on Twitter (“X”) calling Wilkinson’s response “ridiculous and unfair” because Saskatchewan residents are still paying millions of dollars for gasoline, diesel, propane and ”essentially everything in the supply chain.” No rebates mean no tax. Period, he said.“If Saskatchewan people stop getting the rebate entirely, Saskatchewan should stop paying the carbon tax entirely.“Wilkinson wouldn’t say if Saskatchewan officials would be formally charged but indicated there would be unspecified “consequences” for breaking the law.“I’m not going to speculate about what the next steps are,” he said. “The other thing I would say is premiers, just like prime ministers, are responsible for passing laws and they expect their citizens to abide by those lawS. If you do not have that expectation, you have anarchy, and for a provincial premier to take the position that they will actually simply ignore a law that was upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada is reckless and irresponsible and almost unheard of in the history of this country.”.On the 40th anniversary of the resignation of Pierre Trudeau, 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.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. .Duncan said Ottawa’s refusal to exempt all home heating, including natural gas, is treating residents as “second-class citizens.”“The carbon tax has always been unaffordable but up until now at least it had been applied fairly. The heating oil exemption for Atlantic Canada changed that,” he said.“Our government simply is not going to accept this unfair treatment of Saskatchewan families.”
There will be no soup for Saskatchewan residents in the form of carbon tax rebates.That’s the word from federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson who said the Liberal government will withhold carbon rebate cheques in response to Saskatchewan’s decision not to remit the federal portion on home heating to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)."They will no longer get the rebate," he told The Canadian Press. "The rebate actually provides more money for most families in Saskatchewan.And indeed, his comments sparked an immediate and angry war of words with the Saskatchewan government.After the tax goes up on April 1 of this year, a family of four would have been eligible for up to $1,804.80 in rural areas, and $1,504 in urban settings.But Wilkinson said it’s pretty difficult to pay dollars that aren’t collected.The Saskatchewan government is technically breaking federal emissions law by choosing not to remit the tax money it would have collected on behalf of Ottawa ahead of todays deadline, which could result in fines or jail time for executives.Wilkinson said Saskatchewan's move is “reckless,” after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled the federal government has the constitutional authority to put a price on carbon.But Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said Thursday the Liberals’ carve out for home heating oil consumers in Atlantic Canada is proof the tax isn’t being equally or fairly applied across all regions of the country..“I’m not going to speculate about what the next steps are,”Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson.In response, Moe fired off an angry response of his own on Twitter (“X”) calling Wilkinson’s response “ridiculous and unfair” because Saskatchewan residents are still paying millions of dollars for gasoline, diesel, propane and ”essentially everything in the supply chain.” No rebates mean no tax. Period, he said.“If Saskatchewan people stop getting the rebate entirely, Saskatchewan should stop paying the carbon tax entirely.“Wilkinson wouldn’t say if Saskatchewan officials would be formally charged but indicated there would be unspecified “consequences” for breaking the law.“I’m not going to speculate about what the next steps are,” he said. “The other thing I would say is premiers, just like prime ministers, are responsible for passing laws and they expect their citizens to abide by those lawS. If you do not have that expectation, you have anarchy, and for a provincial premier to take the position that they will actually simply ignore a law that was upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada is reckless and irresponsible and almost unheard of in the history of this country.”.On the 40th anniversary of the resignation of Pierre Trudeau, 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.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. .Duncan said Ottawa’s refusal to exempt all home heating, including natural gas, is treating residents as “second-class citizens.”“The carbon tax has always been unaffordable but up until now at least it had been applied fairly. The heating oil exemption for Atlantic Canada changed that,” he said.“Our government simply is not going to accept this unfair treatment of Saskatchewan families.”
