Saskatchewan carbon price halt shouldn’t affect rebates, minister says
Global News
As Saskatchewan stops collecting the federal carbon price for home heating, the minister responsible for SaskEnergy says he doesn't believe the move should affect rebates.
Dustin Duncan, the minister responsible for SaskEnergy, says he’s doesn’t think carbon price rebates will be impacted as the Crown utility stops collecting the federal fuel levy for home heating.
Back in October, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said SaskEnergy would stop collecting the carbon tax from residential customers at the beginning of the year in response to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pausing the charge on home heating oil for three years.
The exemption applies nationally, but the largest proportion of heating oil users are in Atlantic Canada.
“Not only did that not affect the rebates for people in Atlantic Canada, so there wasn’t a corresponding decrease in the rebates for those individuals. But at the same time, the prime minister doubled the rural rebate component from 10 to 20 per cent,” Duncan told Global News Tuesday.
“So again, this is another issue that we’re looking for fairness. If Atlantic Canadians didn’t see a reduction in the rebates after the federal government exempted them from the carbon tax, why would Saskatchewan people in Saskatchewan see a reduction in our rebates?”
With the carbon price currently at $65 per tonne, a SaskEnergy customer with a $100 bill would pay $22.36 in federal carbon charges. When the carbon price increases to $80 per tonne on April 1, that charge would be $25.57 on a $100 bill.
In 2022, SaskEnergy remitted $172 million to Ottawa through the fuel charge when it was $50 per tonne.
University of Regina assistant economics professor Brett Dolter says that because households no longer pay the federal fuel charge, rebates will likely decrease.
