Saskatchewan seeks injunction against CRA for ‘unjust and unconstitutional seizure of money’

Saskatchewan is taking legal action against Ottawa, accusing the Trudeau government of treating the province unfairly and violating the Constitution.

The Liberals have sent the Canada Revenue Agency after the Saskatchewan government for refusing to collect the carbon tax. As a result, Saskatchewan Justice Minister and Attorney General Bronwyn Eyre announced an injunction “to stop this unfair and unconstitutional money grab by the Trudeau government.”

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe echoed the minister’s concerns in a post on X, where he called the CRA’s pursuit of the province’s bank account “unfair and unconstitutional.”

Canada’s National Revenue Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau told True North that Saskatchewan is a registered distributor in non-compliance with the fuel charge under the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act.

“With the passage of Bill 151, the Saskatchewan government has chosen to play the role of a designated distributor, required to comply with the law like any other. The GGPPA specifies the consequences of non-compliance, and the Supreme Court of Canada has upheld its constitutionality (2021),” said the minister.

According to Bibeau, the Canada Revenue Agency proceeded with the recovery as required by law.

“We are committed to upholding the law and will continue to provide Saskatchewan citizens with the full Canadian carbon rebate. Our commitment to fairness and equality for all Canadians is unwavering as we work to level the playing field and champion environmental responsibility nationally,” said Bibeau.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suspended the carbon tax on home heating oil in October 2023, primarily benefiting Atlantic Canadians.

“Our government has said that Saskatchewan families should receive fair and equal treatment,” Eyre said.

Many provinces and territories have objected to the exemption, with seven of the 10 provincial premiers and the Northwest Territories calling for carbon tax relief. A Conservative motion passed in the House of Commons in April demanding that Trudeau meet with premiers on the carbon tax; he has yet to act.

The province stopped collecting the carbon tax on electric heating in early 2024. The Saskatchewan government stopped sending federal carbon tax funds to Ottawa in early March. Saskatchewan owns natural gas company SaskEnergy, which allowed it to stop collecting the tax.

After ending the carbon tax in January, inflation in Saskatchewan fell faster than expected. Manitoba saw a similar decline after suspending its fuel tax. Both provinces saw inflation remain lower than the rest of the country for half the year because the taxes were not collected.

Eyre was not satisfied with the Liberals’ response.

“One Trudeau minister called it ‘immoral.’ Another Trudeau minister said if we wanted a carbon tax break, we should have elected more Liberals. And then they started threatening Canadians. They threatened to take away all the rebates. They threatened fines and jail time, all because the Saskatchewan government was giving the same carbon tax break that the federal government was giving to other Canadians,” she said.

The CRA had initially announced it would audit Saskatchewan for non-payment of carbon taxes to the federal government at the end of April. Despite that, Moe said his province “considers we have been paid in full.”

Eyre said the federal government was returning to its “favourite strategy” of attacking bank accounts.

During the Freedom March, Canadian banks froze nearly $8 million in 206 accounts. These freezes were ordered under anti-terrorism and anti-money laundering laws. However, subsequent testimony from the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police found no evidence of criminal or extremist group funding during the protests.

Saskatchewan’s justice minister says giving tax breaks to other regions of Canada while “seizing” Saskatchewan bank accounts violates the Constitution.

“Section 126 of the Canadian Constitution does not allow the federal government to seize money from a province’s bank accounts. That is why today, the Province of Saskatchewan has filed an injunction to try to stop this unfair and unconstitutional seizure of money by the Trudeau government,” said Mr. Eyre.

The minister advocated that the carbon tax be removed on everything, for everyone.

“But until that happens, your Saskatchewan government will protect our province and ensure tax fairness for Saskatchewan families,” she concluded.

True North contacted Environment and Climate Change Canada but received no response.