Saskatchewan files for injunction as CRA attempts to take $28M its owed under federal carbon tax
CBC
Saskatchewan's Ministry of Justice is taking the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) to court for what it says is an attempt by the federal agency to "garnish" $28 million from the province's bank account.
The provincial government announced the news in a video posted to social media Thursday that features Justice Minister Bronwyn Eyre leaning heavily on political rhetoric and providing few specifics.
"Now [the federal government is] threatening us again with their favourite move when someone disagrees with them," said Eyre.
"They're sending the Canada Revenue Agency after the province's bank account."
At a news conference Thursday afternoon, Eyre said a request for injunctive relief and judicial review was filed in Vancouver in an attempt to get a hearing as soon as possible.
Saskatchewan's Ministry of Justice would not provide copies of the application and the federal court has yet to make the documents available online.
The move is an escalation in the dispute between the two levels of government over the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act (GGPPA), a federal law that requires provinces to collect the federal carbon tax.
Saskatchewan stopped collecting and remitting the tax on natural gas for home heating in response to the federal government's decision to exempt home heating oil for three years. Home heating oil is primarily used in Atlantic Canada.
Premier Scott Moe announced last year that SaskEnergy, the provincial natural gas utility, would stop collecting the tax starting Jan. 1, 2024.
The province later said SaskPower would do the same for electricity used to heat homes.
According to the province, approximately 370,000 residential SaskEnergy customers use natural gas to heat their homes. That's 85 per cent of homes in Saskatchewan. Thirteen per cent of households heat their homes using electricity, according to the province.
"One of the most ancient precepts of the law is that it be applied fairly and in this case, we have seen a government which has carved out exceptions and exemptions for one part of the country," said Eyre on Thursday.
One legal expert says the province's request for an injunction is likely to be "an uphill battle."
Gerard Kennedy, an assistant professor at the University of Alberta's faculty of law, said Saskatchewan will have to overcome two hurdles to put a pause to the CRA's efforts.
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