Saskatchewan premier Scott Moe says the province will stop collecting the carbon levy on electric heat starting Jan.1, on top of not collecting it for natural gas.
In a social media post Thursday, Moe said many people in northern Saskatchewan use electricity to heat their homes, and they should be exempt from paying the price.
“We’re going to need to determine who is heating their home with electricity and then estimate the percentage of their power bill that is being used for that heat,” Moe said. “But those are details and we will get that all worked out.”
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Back in October, Moe announced that SaskEnergy, the provincial natural gas utility, won’t collect the carbon tax on natural gas after Ottawa exempted home heating oil.
The announcement came after the federal government offered an exemption for three years on the tax for those using heating oils.
Moe said the federal government’s exemption is unfair, as it mainly helps those in Atlantic Canada. He believes it should also be applied to natural gas, and electric forms of heating.
“We will now be extending the provincial carbon tax exemption to everyone in Saskatchewan who uses electric heat,” Moe went on to say.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said heating oil is far more expensive than natural gas, adding those who use it don’t have other options readily available.
On Thursday, Trudeau was asked about Moe’s announcement that the province will not collect the tax on both natural gas and electric heating.
“Canada is a country of the rule of law, and we expect all Canadians to follow the law,” Trudeau said. “That applies to provinces as much as that applies to individual citizens.”
Saskatchewan has introduced legislation to shield executives at SaskEnergy from being fined or potential jail time should the company not remit the charge.
Saskatchewan took Ottawa to court over the carbon tax in 2021 but lost its challenge when the Supreme Court deemed it was constitutional.