Whether or not you believe the carbon tax is wrong, let us accept one thing:
There’s no doubt that that it is legitimate for the federal government to tax us in this way.
We might not like the tax and we might not even be convinced that this particular carbon pricing tax will stay in the jurisdiction it is collected.
We may even argue that it unfairly hurts resource-based jurisdiction like Saskatchewan even more than other places.
These are all reasonable arguments, but it is unreasonable to argue the federal Liberal government doesn’t have the right to do this.
Ottawa has the right to tax and the only solution to any unpopular policy comes every four years at the polls.
Judging by recent federal government polling showing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as less popular than former Conservative Stephen Harper was at the same point in his mandate, it’s quite possible voters have already identified the solution to the carbon tax.
We also must recognize that the environment is a federal matter and it is legitimate for a federal government to address things hurting the environment like GHGs.
Again, some will disagree that this is the right approach. Some even argue GHG aren’t affecting the environment, but science has never been on their side.
Similarly, pipelines are also a matter well within the purview of federal jurisdiction.
This makes perfect sense because issues like pipeline, rails and national highways cannot be left to one particular jurisdiction. It would be far too easy for one province to be tempted to overstep its bounds and impose unfair restrictions that unduly affect other provinces.
This is clearly the situation with the B.C. NDP’s government contemplation of blocking the $7.4-billion Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline.
Designed to move bitumen from landlocked Alberta to port (Saskatchewan oil is less directly impacted), the clear wrong here is B.C. clearly overstepping provincial jurisdiction in way that impacts other provinces.
However, the other wrong here would be retaliatory trade action like the oil boycott contemplated by NDP Alberta Premier Rachel Notley and clearly endorsed by Saskatchewan Party Premier Scott Moe.
Instead, both premiers should be working with Trudeau to ensure that the Prime Minister does his job and comes down on the B.C. NDP for overstepping its authority.
That’s the only way things can work properly in a country as large and diverse as ours.
You may been surprised how quickly Moe came to the defense of the Alberta, given Alberta-Saskatchewan hostilities on beer and Alberta license plates at construction sites in this province.
But Moe did not mince words in his support:
“If the fuel tanks start to run dry because Premier Notley has turned the tap off, it won’t be Saskatchewan filling them up,” Moe told the CBC.
One might wonder why Moe would be so worked up over the Alberta bitumen, but we need to recognize how one thing in this country impacts the other.
If Alberta bitumen is moved by pipeline, we become less dependent on the railways which are already struggling to move Saskatchewan refined oil products, potash and agricultural products, Moe noted.
A debate that starts in one province and ends two provinces over on the West Coast does potentially impact rural Saskatchewan in a big way.
And in a landlocked province like ours that’s dependent on moving products to port, we can’t afford such a precedent.
However, starting an interprovincial trade war — or even supporting one — isn’t an answer.
The problem has to be fixed by the federal government — the jurisdiction with the authority to fix it.
We may not always like that the country works this way, but this is the only way the country can work.
Murray Mandryk has been covering provincial politics for over 22 years.
