Premier Scott Moe. (Logan Stein/980 CJME file photo)

By Lisa Schick/CJME News

Moe remains against a carbon tax in wake of Conservative announcement

Apr 15, 2021 | 6:49 PM

When it comes to a carbon tax on fuel, Premier Scott Moe isn’t changing his answer: His party still isn’t in favour of it.

“It’s a cost on families and a cost on our small business and farmers here in the province, and so we don’t believe (carbon taxes) to be effective,” Moe said Thursday.

“We don’t believe it’s the appropriate mechanism in order to actually achieve what we want to achieve.”

However, the list of political parties in Canada with that mindset is getting shorter. On Thursday, the federal Conservative Party announced its climate change plan, which would include a carbon tax.

However, if Moe had to choose one, he said he would choose the plan outlined by the Conservative Party. He said it’s cheaper, maxing out at $50 per tonne while the Liberals’ plan would continue rising until it hits $170 per tonne.

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Moe also prefers that the Conservatives’ plan would return the money collected on fuel to a “Personal Low Carbon Savings Account,” which people could then use to buy something that helps them live a “greener” life like a bicycle or a bus pass.

“The dollars are returned. It does reduce the competitive disadvantage relative to what the Liberal government has introduced,” said Moe.

Moe called the Liberals’ tax a wealth redistribution plan because it takes the money collected and returns it to each Canadian equally.

Moe said the Saskatchewan government is going to continue putting its plan together to deal with greenhouse gases and to get out from under the federal backstop carbon tax.

His government announced the creation of a plan after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled the federal carbon tax was constitutional.