After a meeting with the prime minister failed to break the logjam on divisive issues like carbon pricing and equalization, Premier Scott Moe said Saskatchewan will be looking at ways to assert autonomy from Ottawa.
The two leaders spoke for about 50 minutes in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office on Parliament Hill on Tuesday morning. Moe initially sought the meeting to push his “new deal for Canada” agenda, which he framed as an attempt to heal divisions revealed by the Oct. 21 federal election.
Moe called the talks “disappointing.” He said Trudeau made no new commitments on the key priorities he raised, including a pause on the federal carbon backstop, reforms to the equalization program and better market access for Saskatchewan commodities.
“I came today to hear about what he was going to do differently to support the industries and the people of our province, and I can tell you this, I did not hear that there was going to be anything different,” he told reporters in Ottawa. “I heard more of the same.”
He then floated the possibility of seeking more “autonomy” for Saskatchewan. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has used similar language, specifically mentioning options like a provincial pension plan, a provincial police force or moves to opt out of cost-shared programs.
In an interview with the Leader-Post, Moe said he would be looking at “those options as well as other options.” But he did not make any specific commitments, saying details will be revealed “in the days ahead.”
“We’ll be considering a number of different options where Saskatchewan has an opportunity to exert our provincial autonomy,” said Moe. “We’re going to think very seriously about doing that.”
The only examples he provided in his Ottawa scrum centred on boosting Saskatchewan’s efforts on international trade.
A federal government official with knowledge of the meeting cast it in a different light, saying Trudeau came in with an open mind. She said Moe brought little to the table. He didn’t have other premiers on board for equalization reforms, she said, and had no concrete proposals to reform contentious policies like Bill C-69.
“We’re open to hearing suggestions on how to make that better,” she told the Leader-Post. “But he didn’t come with that.”...…………..More
