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Just in time for the holidays, Premier Brad Wall is set to have an awkward conversation around a table full of people he disagrees with.
Wall will be headed to a first ministers’ meeting next week, where he expects to be the only premier not to sign off on a national carbon tax.
“I think Canadians do understand that, you know, we do need to do something about climate change. But is (a carbon tax) the right thing to do? Is it even the most effective?” he said during a press conference in Saskatoon.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau first announced in October that provinces would be required to put a price on carbon, or face having one imposed on them by Ottawa.
At first, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador were united against the plan.
But that opposition has all but crumbled since then.
With Nova Scotia coming onside with carbon pricing, Wall acknowledged he’s now the odd man out among his fellow premiers.
“(Nova Scotia) have since come to an agreement with the federal government and are implementing an internal cap-and-trade initiative in their province. And so, I think we’ll be on our own right now,” he said.
Wall said whatever comes out of the meeting, his government is ready to continue the fight against a carbon tax in front of a judge.
“Our justice ministry is looking at whether or not we have legal options. We think there are options and if need be, we will take the federal government to court,” he said.
Wall said there was no plan to dispute the science behind climate change. Rather, he said any court challenge would focus on how much authority the federal government has on the environment file, given it’s an area of shared jurisdiction.
In the meantime, the premier said he is promoting a national social media campaign against the carbon tax in the run-up to next Friday’s meeting.
“I know it’s not going to necessarily win the day, however many numbers there are. But it’s a sign of the support we think exists for Saskatchewan’s position,” he said.
