Saskatchewan court ruling doesn’t change Manitoba’s carbon-tax position: justice minister

Posted: 4:16 PM CDT Friday, May. 3, 2019 Last Modified: 2:08 PM CDT Saturday, May. 4, 2019 | Updates

Manitoba will not abandon its challenge to the federal carbon tax in light of an Appeal Court ruling in Saskatchewan that found the levy falls within Ottawa’s legislative authority.

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Manitoba will not abandon its challenge to the federal carbon tax in light of an Appeal Court ruling in Saskatchewan that found the levy falls within Ottawa’s legislative authority.

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This article was published 03/05/2019 (2398 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba will not abandon its challenge to the federal carbon tax in light of an Appeal Court ruling in Saskatchewan that found the levy falls within Ottawa’s legislative authority.

“We stand by our challenge of the federal government’s decision to impose a carbon tax on Manitobans,” Justice Minister Cliff Cullen said in a statement Friday following the release of the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal ruling.

Manitoba withdrew its proposed $25 per tonne carbon tax last fall after failing to receive assurances from the federal government that it wouldn’t be forced to increase the levy in future years.

Ottawa responded by imposing the tax on Manitoba, as well as Saskatchewan, Ontario and New Brunswick, which also failed to institute their own carbon levies.

The Saskatchewan high court decision was split, with three judges ruling in favour of the federal government and two judges giving dissenting opinions.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said he would appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Cullen said Friday there is no legal justification for the federal government “to have rejected Manitoba’s plan while approving less-effective plans from other provinces.”

However, Ottawa had approved the Manitoba carbon tax as far as it went. It simply warned the province that it expected it to increase the levy in the future.

The federally imposed tax of $20 a tonne took effect in Manitoba on April 1. Ottawa plans to boost the tax by $10 a tonne a year until it reaches $50 a tonne in 2022.