Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says he is prepared to take legal actions over federal regulations on pollution.
The Saskatchewan Party government has outlined a policy and steps it plans to take to maintain control over electricity as well as emissions from fertilizer and oil and gas production.
It also includes a proposed bill to clarify the province’s constitutional rights and to pursue greater control over its immigration.
Moe released the policy paper called “Drawing the Line: Defending Saskatchewan’s Economic Autonomy” during a chamber of commerce lunch in North Battleford.
He was backed by Tim McMillan, former president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, a Calgary-based oil and gas lobby group.
Moe says Canada’s Impact Assessment Act, which allows the government to assess environmental impacts of projects on federal lands before they go ahead, is an intrusion by Ottawa.
“The situation has been exacerbated in recent years by the current federal government’s continued interference in the province’s jurisdiction over natural resources under the guise of federal environmental regulation,” Moe said Tuesday.
“It is time to defend and assert Saskatchewan’s economic autonomy by ‘drawing the line’: taking a number of steps including the introduction of provincial legislation to clarify and protect Saskatchewan’s constitutional rights.”
A cost analysis from Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Finance says the province could lose $111 billion by 2035 through federal environmental policies.
Saskatchewan previously challenged the federal government on the constitutionality of the price on carbon, but lost after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled Ottawa is acting within its jurisdiction.
