Federal carbon tax is constitutional, Supreme Court of Canada rules

OTTAWA – The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled the federal carbon tax is constitutional, despite challenges from some provinces.

In a split decision, the top court has found that the federal government has jurisdiction to put a price on pollution.

This ruling goes beyond just finding the law is constitutional. The majority of justices declare that climate change is real and a threat to Canada and the world.

The governments of Ontario, Alberta, and Saskatchewan had launched legal challenges after the price on pollution was passed in 2018. They argued the Trudeau government overstepped its jurisdiction and infringed on provincial taxation and natural resource powers.

But the top court agrees with the federal government, in that emissions have no borders and this issue is of national concern.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe is not deterred by the ruling, saying the carbon tax is “bad environmental policy, bad economic policy, and simply wrong.”

“While the Supreme Court has determined that Prime Minister Trudeau has the legal right to impose a carbon tax, it doesn’t mean he should, and it doesn’t make the carbon tax any less punitive for Saskatchewan people,” he said in a statement.

The Supreme Court decision Thursday was not unanimous. Three of the nine judges dissented and sided with the provinces.

Politically, this will be a problem for Conservatives across the country, who have long campaigned against the carbon tax. For the Trudeau government, this is a sigh of relief. If it had lost this case, that would have gutted its  plan to hit net zero emissions by 2050.

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Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says the Liberals can now get on with the job of tackling climate change.

“This decision will enable Canada to continue on a course that will create secure jobs for workers in every region of this country by building a prosperous 21st century low-carbon economy,” he said Thursday.

Wilkinson says he hopes the hold-out provinces will create their own carbon pricing systems, and notes he’ll be reaching out to them.

“About how we can move forward together to strengthen local economies and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” he added.

The 2018 act set a minimum price on carbon emissions, and forced a federal pricing system on provinces that don’t match it with a system of their own.

B.C. introduced its own carbon tax in 2008.

-With files from The Canadian Press

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