The Saskatchewan government has rejected federal oil and gas emissions caps and methane regulations, saying they would cause substantial economic damage to the province.An independent report commissioned by the Saskatchewan Economic Impact Assessment Tribunal found that the federal mandates would lead to a significant decline in the province's oil production and major losses in royalty and tax revenue.By 2050, Saskatchewan's oil production would fall between 38% and 52%, the province would face cumulative royalty and tax revenue losses of up to $7.1 billion, and total lost government revenues could reach $43.3 billion."The Tribunal has, in several cases, relied on the same experts as the federal government and presented undeniable, quantitative data that these two federal mandates would be economically devastating to Saskatchewan," said Bronwyn Eyre, Justice Minister and Attorney General."These mandates will lead to industrial winners and losers across the country and represent a sweeping constitutional overreach into the province's exclusive jurisdiction over natural resources. This report arms us with additional, independent evidence to constitutionally challenge the two mandates."The report also found that the federal policies would cause Saskatchewan's economy to contract by 4.3% by 2030 and 6.4% by 2050, with a cumulative impact on the GDP of $230 billion by 2050. Employment losses by 2050 could range from 12,800 to 34,000 jobs."The Explorers and Producers Association of Canada (EPAC) remains fundamentally opposed to the imposition of a federal emissions cap on Canadian oil and gas production," said Tristan Goodman, President and CEO of EPAC. "This is unnecessary and unacceptable given Canadian producers' ongoing efforts to reduce emissions. A federal emissions cap will introduce further investment uncertainty and has a likelihood of being found unconstitutional as seen in recent Supreme Court decisions. EPAC supports the goal of reducing methane emissions from the oil and gas sector and we believe this is strictly provincial jurisdiction. We look forward to working with the province of Saskatchewan to achieve their methane emissions reduction target. Federal intervention is not required."The federal emissions cap and methane regulations are also unlikely to reduce global emissions, according to the report, as production cuts in Canada would likely be replaced by jurisdictions with weaker environmental standards.The report stated that between 2015 and 2023, provincially-regulated methane emissions in Saskatchewan fell by two-thirds.The Economic Impact Assessment Tribunal conducted its analysis and developed the report under the authority of The Saskatchewan First Act.
