Liberal MPs were irate after a Conservative-led committee invited Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe to speak to the widely detested carbon tax.
Conservative MP Kelly McCauley chaired the Government Operations and Estimates committee meeting on the Liberals’ 2024-2025 financial estimates on Wednesday, inviting Premier Moe to provide feedback on how the carbon tax affects his constituents.
Moe recently took a bold step that the feds claim is unconstitutional, by refusing to charge Saskatchewanians the federal carbon tax on their home heating.
Liberal MPs did everything they could to stop Moe from speaking negatively about the carbon tax, which is scheduled to go up by $15 per tonne of carbon emissions on April 1, from $65 to $80.
Liberal MP Jenica Atwin called McCauley biased in his decision to invite Moe, noting that McCauley has an “I love oil and gas” sticker on his laptop.
“I do love oil and gas,” McCauley responded, adding, “If it bothers you, I will close my laptop.”
Liberal MP Frances Drouin said “You’re misleading the committee,” and raised several points of order, arguing that he didn’t get a chance to consult on the invite.
Another Liberal MP, Irek Kusmierczyk, said much of the same, repeating three times that the invite was supposed to have been done “in compliance with instruction from the committee.”
“You unilaterally called a meeting that was not necessary this week because your team is after clips,” he said at one point. “I take issue and umbrage with that,” he added.
Bloc Quebecois MP Julie Vignola further lamented, as translated by CPAC: “We were not informed, we were not consulted, as deputy chair of this committee, I find this to be a great pity.”
Moe speaks
When finally given the chance to speak, Premier Moe said the impact of the federal carbon tax is “very real” in Saskatchewan, in particular for those in the north.
But Moe said his decision to stop charging Saskatchewanians the federal carbon tax on home heating, has helped most families.
“They’re seeing some solace and savings in that with the recent decision,” he said. But he added that especially for rural families, the tax is still a burden as they still rely on fuel more more than the average city dweller.
He further encouraged Prime Minister Trudeau to extend his recent decision to stop charging the carbon tax for those who use home heating oil, “to all Canadians and all types of heating fuel.”
Moe also made mention of investments his province has made towards the oil and gas industry, such as methane reductions technology, stating that they’ve curbed 25% of emissions from oil production.
Seven out of ten Premiers, including Moe, have issued statements addressed to Prime Minister Trudeau, asking him to pause his plans for the carbon tax increase — or get rid of the whole thing altogether.
Trudeau has refused, and even sent them an open letter Tuesday night, expressing his intention to keep the carbon tax in place, stating that 80% of Canadians financially benefit from the tax through quarterly rebates.
