The Premier of Manitoba remains convinced that his government’s carbon tax plan is better than any dreamed up by the feds.

The Supreme Court of Canada this morning ruled that the federal carbon tax is in fact constitutional despite accusations from Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Ontario that suggested otherwise.

Canada introduced the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act in 2019, implementing a minimum price on carbon emissions in provinces that did not have equivalent provincial prices. The three provinces banded together in the hopes of defeating the Liberal’s climate-change plan and were disappointed this morning by the official verdict.

Premier Brian Pallister, however, says the supreme court’s ruling does little to sway his enthusiasm for the proposed made-in Manitoba strategy. Indeed, he says, their decision only reinforces values his government already believed in.

“It reaffirms that this is a national and international issue that needs to be addressed and it also reaffirms, very clearly, that the federal government doesn’t have an unfettered right to tell provinces how to address it.”

Without devaluing the Liberal’s plan, Pallister says it is better suited for urban centres and less so for the rural and northern centres that dominate Manitoba’s economy. “This is a damaging way of going about meeting the goals of addressing climate change,” he remarks.

Pallister’s initial plan would have seen a flat tax of $25 per tonne implemented immediately whereas the federal levy would see a slower rise to $50 per tonne by the year 2022. Thought that is presently being reevaluated.  

"Our plan is more stringent than many other provinces that the federal government said could go ahead with theirs and Manitoba's green plan will work best if we have Manitobans working at it together as we did when we developed it," states the premier. “We're optimistic with the decision and the wording in it, that we have a case to make and we're looking forward to hearing the court rule on our own."

Pallister says no concrete schedule has yet been determined for Manitoba’s own court date on the matter, but he hopes it will be sometime in the coming months.