Saskatchewan will be arguing its carbon tax reference case before the Supreme Court Tuesday and Wednesday. The Province is requesting the Supreme Court settle the issue of the constitutionality of the federal carbon tax. Alberta and Ontario are also speaking to the carbon tax this week in their challenges that have reached the Supreme Court. And Quebec has sought intervenor status in Saskatchewan’s case wanting to argue that it is provincial jurisdiction.

Justice Minister and Attorney General, Don Morgan says, the position the Saskatchewan government has taken and will continue to take is they do not think the carbon tax is the right tool, to reduce carbon emissions in the province. Morgan says they want to look at other options and have called on the Federal government to put a pause on the carbon tax until after there is a ruling from the Supreme Court. He says issues of climate change are incredibly important and have to be dealt with, and the provincial government wants to sit down with the federal government and find good methods of doing that. Morgan suggests for many in the province including people working in potash mining, farming or trucking, this is critically important.

Morgan says since day one the SaskParty’s position has been that the carbon tax is an overreach by the federal government. He says the province is asking the Supreme Court to look at the case carefully and make a decision that will uphold the delicate balance between federal and provincial rights.

Environment Minister Dustin Duncan suggests we need a federal climate policy that makes our environment, economies and communities more resilient to the effects of climate change, not more vulnerable. He says the province can respond to climate change successfully by creating a sustainable transition that benefits Saskatchewan’s families and businesses.