What an NCAA rule change might mean for junior hockey in Sask.
Nov 18, 2024
Previously, WHL players were declared ineligible to play NCAA hockey in the U.S.
SaskEnergy minister Dustin Duncan says he’s ready for whatever comes next.
On Thursday, Duncan announced that Saskatchewan will not remit the carbon tax on natural gas used for home heating to Ottawa.
The decision was made in response to an exemption on the carbon tax for home heating oil. The exemption applies largely in Atlantic Canada but not Saskatchewan, prompting accusations of unfairness from the provincial government.
While Duncan has previously joked about going to “carbon jail” for breaking federal law, he told Bray he thinks charges are possible but unlikely.
“The act is pretty clear,” Duncan said on The Evan Bray Show on Friday.
“There’s the ability for provisions of fines and penalties and the ability in this case for criminal charges to be filed. I don’t think it’s going to come to that.”
Ottawa responded quickly to Saskatchewan’s decision on Thursday, saying the move means Saskatchewan residents will no longer receive carbon rebates, despite the fact people in the province will still pay the carbon tax on gas and other items.
“They’ve already indicated they may be making changes to the rebate, but at the end of the day it’s up to the federal government in terms of how they’re going to respond to this,” Duncan added.
“We just wanted to provide the same fairness the prime minister gave four months ago to people that largely live in Atlantic Canada. We want that same fairness for the people of Saskatchewan.”
In December of last year the Saskatchewan Legislature unanimously passed a law that gives the government – and Duncan as minister – the exclusive responsibility for compliance with the federal carbon tax on home heating. Duncan emphasized that those moves mean any legal consequences for the decision will fall on him rather than executives or workers at SaskEnergy.
“When we started this a number of months ago, we indicated that we would not do anything that would put anyone at SaskEnergy in any type of legal jeopardy in the event the government – the shareholder of SaskEnergy – took the step to not remit the carbon tax,” he explained.
“That cleared the way to take the step to provide the same carbon tax relief that was given by the prime minister just four months ago, to people largely in Atlantic Canada,” Duncan added.
Duncan said the fairness issue regarding the carbon tax was raised by provincial Finance Minister Donna Harpauer to Canada’s Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, but no solution was offered.
The minister reiterated that the decision came down to fairness.
“The prime minister really started all of this when he decided to exempt part of the country and not all of the country. It’s a move that we wouldn’t have made if it hadn’t been for the prime minister – for blatantly political reasons – exempting part of the country that, frankly, votes overwhelmingly Liberal at the moment and ignoring the rest of us,” Duncan stated.
“We think – in the name of fairness for the people of Saskatchewan – it’s certainly a step we needed to take.”