Legislative Debate (31 March 2025)

From Hansard (31 March 2025)

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Removal of Carbon Tax and Effect on Provincial Economy

Hon. Travis Keisig: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek leave to move a motion under rule 61.

Speaker Goudy: — Will the minister briefly state the purpose of the motion and read the text of the motion?

Hon. Travis Keisig: — Mr. Speaker, last week our government announced our intention to pause the industrial carbon tax that was forced on us by the federal government. In light of the federal election, our government believes all parties need to be clear about their intentions with the quiet carbon tax on Saskatchewan industries. Will they allow the provinces to regulate in this space? Or are we going to continue to be subject to the Ottawa-knowsbest attitude that we have experienced for the last decade?

Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I would move the following motion:

That this Assembly supports the government’s actions to make Saskatchewan the first carbon tax-free province in Canada by pausing the industrial carbon tax under its output-based performance standards, or OBPS, program, a decision that will provide immediate financial relief to families, farms, businesses, and industries; and further,

That this House believes that the federal government should provide authority to provincial governments to decide their own industrial carbon tax policies without a federal backstop.

Speaker Goudy: — The Minister of the Environment has asked request leave without notice a motion of urgent and pressing necessity under rule 61. Is leave granted?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

Speaker Goudy: — Leave has been granted. The member may proceed.

Hon. Travis Keisig: — Well thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate this opportunity to speak to this motion, and I am very proud to announce to the House that Saskatchewan is the very first carbon tax-free province in the entire country of Canada.

Effective April 1st, 2025 Saskatchewan is the first province to be a carbon tax-free jurisdiction in Canada. From day one our government and this Premier led against this harmful tax, and once again we are taking the lead in delivering for the people of Saskatchewan.

It will be six years tomorrow since this carbon tax was imposed on all Canadians. At that time there were seven provinces and one opposition that supported and intervened in the case, taking it to the Supreme Court of Canada. The members opposite had called our court case a pointless crusade, Mr. Speaker. We on this side of the House know that the fight against this punitive tax was not a pointless crusade but a fight this government took on to protect our industries and all of our families.

The carbon tax was never an environmental policy. It was always a taxation policy. Our output-based performance standards program was put in place to protect the competitiveness of Saskatchewan businesses from the federal carbon tax. This program was put in place so we would not allow policies created in Ottawa to harm our industries here in Saskatchewan.

That is why we are taking action on April 1st to remove the carbon tax from your SaskPower bills. This will save Saskatchewan families and businesses around 10 per cent a year. These are incredibly important savings for Saskatchewan residents during these uncertain times when the cost of living is truly top of mind.

We will also be pausing compliance payments for industrial emitters regulated under the provincial output-based performance standards program. The pause on industrial emitters will help protect all regulated industrial emitters from the financial uncertainty from potential trade actions.

The plan, very material to Saskatchewan families, is to scrap the Liberal-NDP carbon tax in this province — the visible one and the very quiet one, Mr. Speaker. We urge all parties running in the ongoing federal election to commit to allowing the provinces to regulate in this space as they see fit.

It will help ensure that Saskatchewan businesses remain competitive and will help reduce the cost of consumer products that have industrial carbon tax built right into their price. Our government will engage with all of our stakeholders that are impacted by the OBPS program. We believe that their feedback is crucial to determine what the future of the OBPS program looks like.

I want to take a moment, Mr. Speaker, and speak about our industries and the world-class products they produce. We know that Saskatchewan produces some of the most sustainable products in the world, products everyone in the world needs. The amount of CO2 sequestered in agricultural soils is the equivalent to almost 92 per cent of the total carbon emissions of Saskatchewan’s agriculture sector.

The carbon footprint of Saskatchewan canola is 67 per cent lower than the global weighted average of our competitors. For durum and wheat our carbon footprint is 78 per cent and 62 per cent lower than competitive jurisdictions. For peas produced in Saskatchewan, their carbon footprint is 96 per cent lower, and for lentils it’s 130 per cent lower than the average of all global competitors. And, Mr. Speaker, I spoke with the Swiss ambassador this morning, and they were very excited to learn about all of the great opportunities in Saskatchewan’s agri-food industry.

Saskatchewan potash mines produce half the emissions per tonne compared to other jurisdictions globally. We want to create the environment to produce more of these products right here in Saskatchewan. Now that we are currently in a federal election cycle where the two major federal parties and their leaders have announced their plans to remove the carbon tax from consumers, we need to ensure that our industries are more competitive during these uncertain times with American and Chinese tariffs looming. We want to make our industries more competitive in the face of these tariffs and have the ability to protect and create jobs. Making Saskatchewan a carbon tax-free province would do just that, Mr. Speaker.

I hope all parties running in the federal election would agree that this is the top priority. We would also ask that they would allow the province to regulate in this area without imposing the federal backstop during these very uncertain times.

I’m going to finish reading the motion now, Mr. Speaker:

That this Assembly supports the government’s actions to make Saskatchewan the first carbon tax-free province in Canada by pausing the industrial carbon tax under its OBPS program, a decision that will provide immediate financial relief to families, farms, business, and industries; and further,

That this House believes the federal government should provide authority to provincial governments to decide their own industrial carbon tax policies without a federal backstop.

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