Brian Zinchuk is editor and owner of Pipeline Online
Leader of the Opposition Carla Beck during Question Period on March 4. Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan
The federal carbon tax was first at the plate as Question Period took place on March 4. Here’s the exchange between Leader of the Opposition, NDP Leader Carla Beck and Premier Scott Moe.
Editor’s note: references to “Mr. Speaker,” which are numerous, have been edited out.
Carla Beck: This tired and out-of-touch government has failed to deliver the cost-of-living relief that Saskatchewan people need. Under this Premier’s watch, Saskatchewan has the worst job creation record in the country, and we lead the nation when it comes to mortgages in arrears.
Now, if the Premier was listening, he wouldn’t need me to tell him that Saskatchewan people need some relief. Why hasn’t the Premier scrapped the fuel tax to give Saskatchewan people the relief that they so need?
Scott Moe: With respect to affordability we’ve stood on the floor of this legislature many times and discussed the over $2 billion in affordability measures that are in place, many of them income tested to ensure that we are achieving results, like taking 112,000 people off the tax rolls, the provincial tax rolls altogether. The residents are paying less tax than they were 10 and 15 years ago in this province, in particular all of those that may be in the lower income brackets in the province of Saskatchewan.
When it comes to job creation in this province, in 2020 following an unprecedented pandemic, there was job creation in this province. The job numbers increased by about 50,000 that particular year. The year following, 2021, another 15,300 more jobs were created in the province; 10,900 the year after that. And this most recent year just under 20,000 jobs, which is leading this province to having some of the fastest population growth in the nation of Canada, the third lowest unemployment rate, and the second-highest number of jobs per capita of any province or territory in the nation.
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Beck: I’ll address something that was said earlier by the member from Estevan, and it was this: she knows very well, the Premier knows very well that this side, we do not support the carbon tax. But I’m also old enough to remember when the Premier voted for our motion calling on the federal government to scrap their unfair treatment on home heating oil.
Now, remitting an unfair and uneven tax isn’t right but neither is sitting on your hands and failing to get a deal. We say this because on Friday we learned that neither the SaskEnergy minister nor the Premier even bothered to pick up a phone to try to get a deal from the feds. That is not leadership. Why didn’t the Premier even bother to pick up the phone and actually do his homework, get a deal that benefits the people in this province?
Premier Scott Moe during Question Period on March 4. Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan
Moe: Those conversation have happened with the federal government. Most recently I had a conversation with Minister Guilbeault when we were at the COP28 [Conference of the Parties 28] climate conference in Dubai. Those conversations have happened between multiple ministers and the federal government. And what we see time and time again from this federal coalition Liberal-NDP government all too often is policy decisions that are not treating Canadians fairly. What we saw most recently — and credit to the NDP to finally see the light— we saw a decision that was going to favour one area of the nation and Canadians in one area of the nation over other areas.
What this minister has done has rectified that. It’s about carbon tax fairness, if there is such a thing. And it is still the policy position of this government that that tax, that silly and ridiculous, harmful, inflationary carbon tax should be removed on everything for everyone. And if the entire opposition has changed their position across the board on that, they should inform a couple of the members whose comments I’ll read into the record shortly.
Beck: Well, we have consensus on this side, but there’s also consensus in this province that this tired and out-of-touch government gave up a long time ago in working for the interests of Saskatchewan people. This is a Premier who is clearly, clearly more interested in picking fights than actually delivering for Saskatchewan people. Now he has time to fly to India, time to fly to Dubai, but he can’t pick up the phone and get a deal for Saskatchewan people. He didn’t even try. Why can’t the Premier do his job, pick up the phone, and get that fair deal that Saskatchewan people deserve?
Moe: I’m pretty sure I answered that in the last question where multiple ministers have talked to the federal government and have been talking for a number of years with respect to the harmful inflationary impacts of this ridiculous carbon tax, which is not lowering emissions in any way. It’s driving up the cost of our fuel every time we go to the service station. It’s driving up the cost of our groceries each and every time we go to the grocery store, of which members on that side think is okay.
The member . . . one of them, I can’t remember which one, would also say, “I would also say, why shouldn’t consumers actually pay the price of carbon for producing food?” He went on to say, “We don’t think that the carbon tax is a tax. It’s a necessary price on pollution.” And spoiler alert, he was in favour.
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