Alberta is suing the federal government over the carbon tax exemption on home heating oil, Premier Danielle Smith said Tuesday, arguing the carve-out is advantageous to only parts of the country, rendering the levy unconstitutional.
Smith announced the legal action at a news conference alongside five other ministers, saying the request for judicial review was filed earlier Tuesday.
“The entire argument that the federal government made about a retail federal retail carbon tax was to create fairness across the country. This clearly does not create fairness and it in fact, exempts one of the highest emitting fuels, so it they’ve undermined their their entire argument,” Smith said.
Home heating oil is a type of fuel burned to warm homes. It is used across the country but is by far most prominent in the Atlantic provinces of Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
While the federal carve-out for home heating oil applies across Canada, Smith said Tuesday it in actuality targets those areas that rely on that type of fuel the most.
“It’s pretty clear that there are certain, there’s certain regions in the country that are disproportionately benefiting from this,” she said.
“They’re saying in effect that some Canadians deserve lower energy bills but not all.”
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“We are seeking advice on whether we can also challenge the carbon tax now that it’s, I think, violating the spirit of what was decided in the original Supreme Court action, which was to apply a tax equally across the country to all users in all provinces,” she said then.
Poilievre has repeatedly called for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to call a “carbon tax election.”
The carbon tax as a political issue has produced mixed results recently for provincial governments.
Former New Brunswick premier Blaine Higgs pledged his province would challenge the tax in court, but was defeated in the province’s Oct. 21 election.
B.C. Conservative leader John Rustad had also pledged to drop the carbon tax but his party was narrowly defeated in that province’s election.
Last night, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe was re-elected, albeit with a reduced majority, after his government stopped collecting the tax on natural gas consumption from residential customers earlier this year.
Smith announced the legal action at a news conference alongside five other ministers, saying the request for judicial review was filed earlier Tuesday.
“The entire argument that the federal government made about a retail federal retail carbon tax was to create fairness across the country. This clearly does not create fairness and it in fact, exempts one of the highest emitting fuels, so it they’ve undermined their their entire argument,” Smith said.
Home heating oil is a type of fuel burned to warm homes. It is used across the country but is by far most prominent in the Atlantic provinces of Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
While the federal carve-out for home heating oil applies across Canada, Smith said Tuesday it in actuality targets those areas that rely on that type of fuel the most.
“It’s pretty clear that there are certain, there’s certain regions in the country that are disproportionately benefiting from this,” she said.
“They’re saying in effect that some Canadians deserve lower energy bills but not all.”
Alberta suing Ottawa over carbon tax home heating oil exemption — Edmonton Journal
News of the legal action comes seven months after Smith hinted at launching a legal challenge of the carbon tax a day after speaking at federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre's 'Axe the Tax' rally in Edmonton in late March
Poilievre has repeatedly called for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to call a “carbon tax election.”
The carbon tax as a political issue has produced mixed results recently for provincial governments.
Former New Brunswick premier Blaine Higgs pledged his province would challenge the tax in court, but was defeated in the province’s Oct. 21 election.
B.C. Conservative leader John Rustad had also pledged to drop the carbon tax but his party was narrowly defeated in that province’s election.
Last night, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe was re-elected, albeit with a reduced majority, after his government stopped collecting the tax on natural gas consumption from residential customers earlier this year.
