Saskatchewan says Ottawa’s net-zero plan would cost province $40B, job losses

The Saskatchewan government says Ottawa’s target to have net-zero emissions by 2035 would cost the province billions of dollars.

Dustin Duncan, the minister responsible for Saskatchewan’s electricity provider, says the province would have to spend $40 billion from now until 2035 to meet the standards.

Duncan also says electricity rates would more than double and hundreds of SaskPower employees could be without work.

Ottawa’s clean electricity standards would require all electricity to be from renewable sources, like wind or hydro, or be equipped with carbon capture technology.

Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault has said he wants to work with the provinces and has disputed claims that the regulations would impose unfair costs or cause reliability problems.

Saskatchewan has instead proposed it meet net-zero targets by 2050.