REGINA - The Government of Saskatchewan says it has “categorically rejected” the Clean Electricity Regulations published by the federal government.
In a news release Wednesday from the province, Crown Investments Corporation Minister Jeremy Harrison blasted the federal government.
"Our government unequivocally rejects federal intrusion into our exclusive provincial jurisdiction over the electricity system," Harrison said. "Saskatchewan will prioritize maintaining an affordable and reliable electricity grid to support our regional needs and growth. The federal Clean Electricity Regulations are unconstitutional, unaffordable, unachievable, and Saskatchewan cannot, and will not, comply with them."
The statement was in response to the release of the finalized Clean Electricity Regulations, which the federal government said in their news release “will cement Canada’s position as a global clean electricity powerhouse.”
Federal ministers Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, and Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, also released the document “Powering Canada’s Future,” which the federal government states “lays out our roadmap to build more affordable, reliable, and clean power to help meet growing demand.”
“Powering Canada’s Future is our plan to accelerate clean power development through a historic suite of investments, permitting actions, and the finalized Clean Electricity Regulations,” Guilbeault said in a statement. “This is a plan that cuts energy bills for Canadians while reliably meeting rising power demand, creating more good union jobs and saving the equivalent of 55 million cars’ worth of tailpipe emissions from polluting our air.”
But the Clean Electricity Regulations had come under fire from the province for months, due in part to setting what the province regarded as an unreasonable 2035 target for net zero compliance. The latest reports see that deadline pushed back to 2050, which is more in line with what Saskatchewan and other provinces had been seeking.
According to the federal government’s news release: “Clean Electricity Regulations finalized today provide guardrails that will ensure that new investments in power generation will support the clean grid that will be the foundation of Canada’s efforts to build a net-zero economy by 2050.“
Still, the province reacted to the CER by establishing an independent Economic Impact Assessment Tribunal under the Saskatchewan First Act, designed to assess the economic impact of federal policies on the province. That tribunal was something Harrison pointed to in his statement.
"The Tribunal released its report showing the CER would lower Saskatchewan's economic growth by at least $7.1 billion, cost the province 4,200 jobs, and have a $8.1 billion negative effect on Saskatchewan's export sector," Harrison said. "The Clean Electricity Regulations will cause substantial harm to the provincial economy, slow growth throughout all major sectors, reduce jobs, hike electricity rates and jeopardize grid reliability."
Harrison added that the “Constitution of Canada is clear: provinces manage electricity systems… Our government will not risk the affordability and reliability of Saskatchewan's power grid because of the extreme policies of the Liberal government."
