Manitoba plans lawsuit over carbon tax By: Jessica Botelho-Urbanski and Dylan Robertson Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Wednesday, Apr. 3, 2019

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This article was published 02/04/2019 (2096 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The provincial government will launch a stand-alone lawsuit within 30 days to challenge Ottawa’s imposition of a federal carbon tax on Manitobans.

Premier Brian Pallister announced the legal challenge Wednesday, two days after the federal government imposed its carbon backstop on four provinces: Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick.

Pallister said the province had been waiting to see the so-called backstop in writing before launching its own suit. The backstop program puts a price on carbon pollution for areas that don’t have emission reduction targets in line with federal benchmarks.

The premier believes Manitoba likely has a better case than other provinces already challenging the carbon tax in court (Saskatchewan and Ontario) because of its in-depth, 67-page climate and green plan.

“I think we have a very compelling case to make and I think we have a stronger case to make probably than many of our other provincial partners do,” the premier told reporters.

“We have developed a plan. Other provinces have not. We have a case to make. Now we have been forced, by the federal government’s unwillingness to cooperate with us, to go to court and challenge our right to do for Manitoba… what’s best for Manitoba.”

Pallister took issue with Ottawa seemingly treating provinces differently based on their respective green plans (or lack thereof) and appearing to crack down on provinces with Conservative governments. He referenced Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland as some other jurisdictions that got credit for green initiatives Manitoba didn’t.

“That in and of itself creates the reality – not just the perception, the reality – that Manitoba’s not getting respected for our green record,” the premier said.

Pallister previously said he pushed Trudeau during his Winnipeg visit last September to consider the province’s existing green policies and hydroelectricity glut in shaping federal claim policy. He claimed the prime minister was not open to any wiggle room for Manitoba.

Pallister wouldn’t clarify whether he would reconsider imposing a flat $25-per-tonne carbon tax provincially — an idea he scrapped last October — if he were to win a court case against Ottawa’s escalating levy, mentioning he didn’t want “to prejudice the legitimacy of our court case by getting into hypotheticals.”

Constitutional law expert Bryan Schwartz gave the Pallister government an expert opinion in October 2017 that said Ottawa does have the authority to implement a federal backstop. (Schwartz was paid about $40,000 for his legal advice.)

He also said the province could make a credible argument that it was being discriminated against if Ottawa adopted its backstop while Manitoba was trying to install carbon reduction plans with the same federal emission targets.

Both Manitoba opposition leaders decried Pallister’s proposed lawsuit.

“It’s a frivolous lawsuit. A court challenge is going to do nothing to help us fight climate change in Manitoba,” NDP leader Wab Kinew said.

“The Manitoba government got a legal opinion from a local constitutional expert, who said the federal government does have the authority to levy this tax. So again, that issue has been settled. This is politicking.”

Liberal leader Dougald Lamont called the lawsuit a “huge waste of money.”

“If he really has a problem about what’s happening with the federal government, he could always go back to the negotiating table,” he said.

In Ottawa, federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna chided Pallister for using taxpayer money on a court case that she said was likely to fail, given the legal opinion.

“Manitoba had an opportunity to have a plan and, unfortunately, they flipped-flopped so many times, we needed to act,” she told the Free Press.

McKenna noted a major climate report her department put out this week predicts the province will see more droughts, floods and wildfires.

She rejected the idea that lumping together conservative premiers would suggest the Liberals are targeting their provinces out of partisan considerations.

“We’re actually using a conservative tool, putting a price on pollution [and] returning the money directly back to people,” she said.

Conservative MP Candice Bergen said Pallister “has been very reasonable” in trying to craft a plan with Ottawa, saying the Liberals should have offered more flexibility.

“The premier rightfully stood up for Manitoba and said no to Trudeau,” the MP for Portage-Lisgar said.

“The prime minister’s making it very clear that provinces that don’t align with him politically, and have conservative premiers are basically being told [to] get ready, because Trudeau’s going to trample all over you.”

Bergen did not offer any specifics as to when the Tories will release their own federal climate plan, besides offering that “the plan will be released in plenty of time for Canadians to look at.” McKenna pointed out the plan was promised almost a year ago.

Liberal MP Terry Duguid, who represents Winnipeg South, said he’s hopeful the federal government will be able to help the Pallister government get hydro to new markets.

“We do need to work together on behalf of Manitobans,” he said. “Lord knows we are trying.”

jessica.botelho@freepress.mb.ca

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca