Sask. Gov’t says it won’t comply with Ottawa’s Clean Electricity Regulations

The Government of Saskatchewan says it won’t comply with the federal government’s coming clean energy regulations because doing so would cost the provincial economy more than $7.1 billion.

Ottawa’s regulations, which are intended to move the nation towards the Liberal government’s goal of zero-emission electricity generation by 2035, are expected to come into effect on January 1.

But according to the provincial government, Saskatchewan won’t be playing ball, and won’t be complying with the regulations when they take effect.

The decision comes after the Saskatchewan Economic Impact Assessment Tribunal completed a study on the coming regulations. The Tribunal found they would reduce Saskatchewan’s economic growth by $7.1 billion, cost the province at least 4,200 jobs, and reduce exports by $8.1 billion. The Tribunal was created to study the effects of federal policies on the provincial economy specifically to allow the Saskatchewan government to push back against them.

Bronwyn Eyre, Saskatchewan’s justice minister and attorney general, said the provincial government “cannot participate in federal economic harm to our province.”

The move follows the provincial government’s decision not to remit the carbon tax collected on home heating to Ottawa, which was announced in February. That move was prompted by allegations of unfairness when Ottawa offered an exemption to the tax on homes heated by oil, which are common in Atlantic Canada but not in Saskatchewan.

On Tuesday, the Government of Saskatchewan pointed to the removal of the carbon tax from home heating as one of the reasons behind the province’s comparatively low inflation rate. According to the provincial government, Saskatchewan’s consumer price index increased by 1.5 per cent last month, well below the national average of 2.9 per cent.

“Our priority will always be the defense of our economic well-being against the out of touch federal Liberal/NDP coalition government,” Jeremy Harrison, Saskatchewan’s trade and export development minister, said in a statement.

Eyre didn’t mince words when describing the potential impact of the new rules around power generation.

“This report offers irrefutable, independent evidence that these federal regulations will have a substantial impact on the cost of electricity in Saskatchewan and, as a consequence, our economy and way of life,” Eyre said in a statement.

The tribunal’s study found that by 2035, residential ratepayers will see a $241 increase in additional electricity costs. In addition, taxpayer-funded power infrastructure would need to be abandoned prior to the expected end of its life.

SaskPower is currently laying the groundwork for nuclear power as a possible option for power generation in the future, but its decision on whether to move forward with nuclear power isn’t expected until 2029.

According to the province, the tribunal’s assessment found regional differences – including population, geography and climate – weren’t considered in the development of the Clean Electricity Regulations (CER).

“Saskatchewan has only three per cent of Canada’s population, but would bear at least 15 per cent of the total costs of CER compliance,” the provincial government explained in a statement.

Dustin Duncan, Saskatchewan’s Crown Investments Corporation minister, said the results of the study confirm what he already knew.

“The Tribunal’s findings confirm what the Government of Saskatchewan has already told the federal government—their approach in an attempt to regulate our provincial electricity system is unaffordable and technologically and logistically unattainable,” Duncan said in a statement.

While the Government of Saskatchewan has previously pushed back against federal policies – particularly the controversial carbon tax – through legal action, its efforts have largely been unsuccessful. Eyre said the government’s position is that the federal government must now prove that its coming regulations are constitutional before Saskatchewan will comply.

“We will not be submitting taxpayers to the cost of litigation against the federal government unless litigated against,” Eyre explained.

“The federal government is well aware that laws with respect to the generation and production of electrical energy fall under exclusive provincial jurisdiction in section 92A of the Constitution Act, 1867.”

Meanwhile, the tribunal is working on other assessments related to Ottawa’s proposed methane regulations and oil and gas emissions cap.

More to come.