Calgary, AB: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation slammed Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister for announcing his intentions to impose a $25 per tonne carbon tax following the recent Alberta Court of Appeal decision that found the federal carbon tax unconstitutional.

“This is the worst possible time for Premier Brian Pallister to be flip-flopping on his promise to fight the carbon tax when the Alberta courts just ruled that Ottawa’s heavy-handed tax is unconstitutional,” said Franco Terrazzano, Alberta Director for the CTF. “Pallister should be sticking up for taxpayers like other premiers, not making it harder for Manitobans to heat their homes, fuel their cars and grow their economy.”

The Manitoba government announced its intention to impose a $25 per tonne carbon tax while reducing the provincial sales tax to six per cent.

Prior to the last election Pallister’s Progressive Conservatives launched a petition promising that a “PC government will move forward with its Made-in-Manitoba Climate and Green Plan, without a carbon tax.”

On Feb. 24, 2020, the Alberta Court of Appeal ruled 4-1 that the federal carbon tax is unconstitutional, going as far to describe it as a “Trojan horse” that “substantially overrides” several parts of the constitution.

“Pallister launched a petition against the carbon tax when he was vying for votes, did he not sign his own petition?” asked Terrazzano. “Taxpayers voted for Pallister to challenge Ottawa’s carbon tax, not increase home heating bills. Especially after the legal blow the carbon tax was just dealt, Pallister should be sticking to his promise and joining the fight against the federal carbon tax.”