A Sask NDP motion was passed unanimously on Monday in the Saskatchewan Legislature that called on federal leaders to eliminate the carbon tax on all types of home heating.The NDP’s motion stated:“That the Assembly expresses deep concern over the unfair decision by the Government of Canada to allow oil used for home heating to be exempted from the federal carbon tax while offering no relief to families in Saskatchewan who rely on natural gas, and,That the Assembly expresses deep concern over the divisive comments made by the Minister of Rural Economic Development, the Honourable Gudie Hutchings, on October 28, 2023, in which she blames Canadians living on the prairies for the unfair choices of the Liberal government, and,That the Assembly calls on all parties in the Parliament of Canada to quickly work to remove the federal carbon tax from all forms of home heating for all Canadians.”“The Moe government’s support for our motion to suspend the carbon tax is a good first step,” said NDP leader Carla Beck. Beck mentioned that simply talking about affordability is not enough and people in Saskatchewan expect the premier actually to provide relief when it comes to affordability.An NDP press release said that the Sask Party government presented an amendment requesting the complete elimination of the carbon tax and the NDP supported the amendment.The Sask Party’s amendment stated:“That the Assembly express deep concern over the unfair decision by the Government of Canada to allow oil used for home heating to be exempted from the federal carbon tax while offering no relief to families in Saskatchewan who rely on natural gas, and, That the Assembly express deep concern over the divisive comments made by the Minister of Rural Economic Development, the Honourable Gudie Hutchings, on October 28, 2023, in which she blames Canadians living on the prairies for the unfair choices of the Liberal government, and, That this Assembly supports the Premier of Saskatchewan’s plan to scrap the carbon tax on everything for everyone, and, That if the Liberal-NDP coalition government refuses to scrap the carbon tax, that all forms of home heating across Canada be exempted from the carbon tax, and further,That if none of the above is implemented by the Liberal-NDP coalition, that this Assembly supports the Government of Saskatchewan’s plan to not collect and remit the carbon tax on SaskEnergy bills beginning January 1, 2024.”In Question Period on Monday, when Beck asked about the premier's strategy to address affordability in the province, Premier Scott Moe said that if the carbon tax is not removed from home heating, SaskEnergy will stop collecting the carbon tax starting on January 1, 2024.
