(File photo/The Canadian Press)

By Alison Sandstrom

Price of defiance

People living in Saskatchewan will get smaller carbon tax rebates in 2020

Dec 17, 2019 | 3:23 PM

As the Saskatchewan government vows to continue fighting the carbon tax, the federal government has decreased carbon tax rebates to the province and two others who have not adopted carbon pricing models that meet federal requirements.

Alberta has also been added to the mix after that province’s United Conservative Party repealed the previous government’s consumer carbon tax.

Saskatchewan will see the biggest drop in the rebate. The federal finance department says a family of four will qualify for rebates totalling $809 in 2020, down from the $903 that was projected last year.

In Ontario, the rebate for a family of four has been set at $448, down from $451, while families in Manitoba will receive $486, a decrease from $499.

A family of four in Alberta will see a rebate of $888 in 2020.

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“Obviously we’re disappointed by the news and, you know, merry Christmas from the federal government,” provincial Environment Minister Dustin Duncan told CJME. “I’d like to say that I’m surprised but I’m not.”

The carbon tax rebates are meant to offset the added consumer costs resulting from Ottawa’s carbon tax of $20 per tonne of carbon emitted into the atmosphere for 2020, rising to $30 per tonne in 2021.

The Trudeau government has maintained that most households will receive more money back through the rebates than they pay in carbon taxes on things such as gasoline and home-heating fuels.

The carbon tax scheme was introduced earlier this year as a way to encourage Canadians to use less carbon-based products, thereby reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.

Saskatchewan will take its case against carbon pricing to the Supreme Court, with a date for the hearing set in January. In May the provincial appeal court ruled the imposed carbon tax was constitutional.

Meanwhile P.A. member of the Council of Canadians, Nancy Carswell said the carbon tax does not go far enough. She would rather see efforts directed at regulating the fossil fuel industry and increased investing in renewable energy.

“It’s a very complex issue and it’s sorry the government’s decision is going to hurt Saskatchewan families,” she said speaking about the decreased rebate. “But the bigger hurt that’s coming down the road is of bigger concern.”

With files from The Canadian Press and CKOM.

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom