Alberta Sues Ottawa for Removal of Home Heating Carbon Tax Exemption.

October 30, 2024 TruthUSA

The Alberta government is taking legal action against Ottawa regarding its carbon tax exemption for heating oil, claiming it unfairly benefits eastern provinces while excluding Canadians in regions like Alberta and Saskatchewan that use different heating methods.

The province has filed for a judicial review of the federal government’s carbon tax exemption on heating oil, as announced by Premier Danielle Smith during an Oct. 29 press conference. Alberta alleges that the Liberal government has not applied national standards equally across the country.

“Last year, Ottawa decided to exempt Canadians in the East from the carbon tax on their home heating costs for three years,” stated Smith in a social media post. “While we’re pleased for them, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and other provinces that use natural gas for heating have been intentionally left out from these benefits.”

The province argues that the federal government’s tax exemption for heating oil has created a two-tiered system, forcing Albertans to pay taxes on staying warm during the winter.

Heating oil, primarily used in Atlantic provinces for home heating, is estimated to be used around 1,350 to 1,500 liters per heating season in a Canadian household. Ottawa announced the three-year tax exemption for this fuel on Oct. 16, 2023, with the goal of aiding approximately 1.1 million homes in Canada using home heating oil to transition to heat pumps. The government claims this measure would save the average Atlantic Canadian household roughly $261 during the cold season.

An official press release from the Alberta government stated that Ottawa has repeatedly denied requests to extend similar exemptions to other heating methods used in Alberta and elsewhere across the country, thus adding to the increasing cost of living.

Alberta’s Minister of Justice, Mickey Amery, mentioned that it took about a year to prepare the legal argument, and he anticipates it will take another year for the case to progress through the court system.

While Smith criticized the carbon levy for burdening Albertans financially, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended it, claiming it provides rebates that benefit Canadians.

The Alberta government is seeking a ruling from the federal court declaring the exemption as “unconstitutional and unlawful,” arguing that it goes against the fairness to all provinces outlined in the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, a federal law establishing minimum national standards for carbon pricing.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.

Source link