EDMONTON (660 NEWS) – Premier Jason Kenney is reacting with disappointment after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled the federal carbon tax in constitutional.
During a press conference Thursday morning Kenney said while he respects the decision, his government will not give up the fight against the tax.
“The Supreme Court ignored the Alberta Court of Appeal’s warning and discovered a new federal power that erodes provincial jurisdiction and undermines our constitutional federal system. We will take time to study that decision in detail.”
The Supreme Court voted 6-3 in favour of the federal government’s carbon pricing plan and Kenney said he appreciated the three justices in the court that voted against.
Those three agreed, imposing the federal carbon levy infringes on provincial rights.
Six of nine Supreme Court of Canada judges ruled the carbon tax is constitutional, three say otherwise. Kenney says just because it's constitutional, doesn't mean the feds should do it. #yeg #yyc #ableg #abpoli — Kenney's full statement about losing the carbon tax challenge: pic.twitter.com/3eSk3cabsH
— Saif Kaisar (@StaySaif) March 25, 2021
Kenney argued this decision sets a dangerous precedence for the feds to meddle in future provincial affairs.
He also reaffirmed that while Alberta can’t appeal this any higher, the province won’t back down from its stance.
“When it comes to complying with this decision, we are going to do it in a way that imposes the lowest possible cost on Albertans.”
Kenney repeated that statement when asked whether the United Conservative government would consider introducing a provincial carbon tax similar to the one introduced by the NDP, which was repealed in May 2019.
The premier was asked about how much these legal actions have cost Albertan taxpayers but didn’t give an amount during the press conference.
However, in an email sent to 660 NEWS and CityNews, Kenney’s office said that “as of Dec. 2020, the Alberta Government spent $1,060,291 on the carbon tax challenge. This includes efforts through the victorious Alberta Court of Appeal reference and now the Supreme Court.”
Followed up by e-mail on @StaySaif's unanswered question on the cost of the legal challenge of the carbon tax.
Alberta paid over $1M which premier @jkenney's press secretary says is "a pittance compared to what is being taken from Albertans by the Ottawa Liberals." #YEG #yyc https://t.co/Y4XgcEs0Wd pic.twitter.com/aKkkb4lF8f
— Carly Robinson (@CarlyDRobinson) March 25, 2021
The UCP expects the cost will increase slightly this year but argued it’s merely a drop in the bucket compared to what is being taken from Alberta by the Liberals’ carbon tax.
