VICTORIA — Dan Woynillowicz, policy director at Clean Energy Canada, made the following statement in response to Saskatchewan’s Climate Change Strategy:
“The government of Saskatchewan continues to drag its heels on delivering policies to cut carbon pollution, instead opting for political grandstanding.”
“The province’s newly announced strategy is short on details and further delays any real policy implementation to 2019 or beyond. It has plenty of exploring, encouraging and further consulting with industry—but targets and detailed policies are absent.
“Ultimately, this strategy doesn’t meet the level of effort required from Saskatchewan to cut carbon pollution in line with Canada’s commitments, and does little to position the province to compete in markets increasingly focused on clean growth.
“The federal government has offered flexibility that allows provinces to design carbon pricing policies to suit their economy. Ironically, this ‘made in Saskatchewan’ approach to pollution pricing invites a ‘made in Ottawa’ approach to deliver results.”
KEY FACTS
- Saskatchewan has the highest per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Canada.
- The climate change strategy’s use of approaches that put a price on carbon pollution would only apply to large industrial emitters, such as mining and manufacturing, but not to the oil and gas or electricity sectors—in effect, it would only apply to 8% of Saskatchewan’s emissions.
- Legal scholars have validated the federal government’s constitutional authority to impose a minimum carbon price, and dismissed Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall’s potential legal challenge as “hot air.”
