Sask. carbon rebate cheques go out, but future amounts uncertain
Province decided to not remit carbon levy on home heating
Saskatchewan people will receive their carbon tax rebates starting Monday, but the future of the rebates and their amounts remain uncertain.
Environment and Climate Change Canada issued a news release last week promoting a new "Canada Carbon Rebate Estimator."
According to the Canada Revenue Agency, a Saskatchewan family of four receives an estimated $376 — the second-highest amount in Canada behind Alberta ($450).
A single person in Saskatchewan receives $188 a quarter.
Cheques are sent out every three months to those who file an income tax return in provinces where the federal fuel charge applies.
In its news release, ECC said eight out of 10 households will get back more in rebates than they pay in carbon tax and that "lower-income households benefit the most."
Rural residents get a 10 per cent top-up on their rebates because they tend to drive more and consume more fuel. That rural top-up will double if a bill now before Parliament becomes law.
"Pricing pollution works. It keeps us on track to meet our climate goals, and the Canada Carbon Rebates help low- and middle-income Canadians the most — not those with yachts and four-car garages," said Federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault in a news release.
Future rebate total could drop in Sask.
While the rebate total for this quarter is known, the future total is an open question after the Saskatchewan government decided to not collect or remit the tax collected on home heating in February.
Federal ministers have suggested that the decision will affect future rebate amounts in this province.
On April 1, the federal carbon price increased gasoline by 3.3 cents per litre. Since Ottawa's fuel levy was introduced in 2019, the carbon tax has added 17.6 cents to the cost of a litre of gasoline.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe has long opposed the carbon pricing plan and said recently that a change in federal leadership will be the only thing that scraps the plan.
"On this particular topic, it's going to take a change of government and I think Canadians ultimately are going to have a say at the polls," Moe said last month.
Moe and the premiers of Alberta and New Brunswick have suggested an alternative to the carbon tax based on Article 6 of the Paris climate change agreement.
That article would allow countries to voluntarily work together to transfer carbon credits earned in one country to another country to help them meet their climate change targets, providing none of the emissions are double-counted.
Last month, Federal Minister of Energy and Resources Jonathan Wilkinson was in Regina and was critical of the province's decision not to remit the carbon levy.
"Premier Moe has taken this discussion to another level by deciding that he essentially is above the law, that he can determine which laws he will abide by and which he will not," said Wilkinson.
Not following the federal carbon pricing legislation could result in fines and jail time.
"I'm not sure how going forward, he will have the moral authority to tell and expect folks who live in this province to obey the laws that he passes through the provincial legislature."
After the decision not to remit on natural gas, Wilkinson said in February, "they will no longer get the rebate."
Later Wilkinson was less definitive, saying the province would face "consequences."
"If Saskatchewan people stop getting the rebate entirely, Saskatchewan should stop paying the carbon tax entirely," Moe said on Feb 29.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
with files from David Thurton, Alexander Quon and The Canadian Press