The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that the carbon tax will be constitutional. That means the federal government can put a price on carbon in every province and territory. The tax is meant to curb greenhouse gas emissions and has long been disputed in the province of Alberta.

“A strong majority of Albertans elected this government because of our commitment to repeal the NDP carbon tax. We agreed with them that there are better ways to help the environment than by punishing people for living ordinary lives for heating their homes and driving to work.

The UCP’s first law as a government repealed the NDP’s carbon tax. Naturally, Premier Jason Kenney was not impressed with the new decision.

“We are obviously disappointed in that decision today. The Supreme Court ignored the Alberta court of appeals warning and discovered a new federal power that erodes provincial jurisdiction and undermines our constitutional federal system,” said Kenney.

He says the province will have to respect that it is a decision that came from the Supreme Court of Canada but that they will be taking ‘immediate’ action to consult Albertans and other allied provinces. Although the decision is disappointing for the Premier, it will not discourage him from pursuing other energy initiatives.

“We will continue to press our case challenging bill C69 the federal no more pipelines law which is currently before the Alberta court of appeal,” he added.