Ottawa defends carbon pricing against Ontario´s constitutional challenge
(The Star Fashion & Style)

OTTAWA—The federal government defended its carbon price law in Ontario’s top court Tuesday, arguing Parliament can enforce a minimum levy across Canada because reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a legitimate national concern under the constitution. Sharlene Telles-Langdon, a lawyer with the federal Justice Department, said Canada’s Liberal government had the authority to pass the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, which is being challenged by Ontario and other provinces as an unconstitutional intrusion into provincial jurisdiction. She said the impacts of emissions that cause climate change cross provincial and international boundaries, and that Canada’s chosen tool to combat this problem — mandating that each province has a minimum price on carbon emissions — will be undermined if provinces are allowed to opt out. “It is a measure that needs to apply throughout Canada,� Telles-Langdon said Tuesday, addressing the Ontario Court of Appeal where the provincial government’s constitutional challenge is being heard this week. “Recognizing that as a federal power ... has not unseated the bounds of federalism.� The federal pollution pricing act says all provinces and territories must have their own carbon price — either through a tax or cap-and-trade system — that meets Ottawa’s minimum standard of $20-per-tonne of emissions this year. Those that refuse to do so will see the federal “backstop� imposed, a pricing scheme that includes the levy on fuel that Premier Doug Ford calls a “job-killing carbon tax,� as well as tax rebates to individuals and households that Ottawa says outweigh the cost of the carbon price for most people. Read more:Carbon tax is an unconstitutional use of federal power, Ontario tells courtEnvironment Minister Catherine McKenna touts Canada’s carbon price at international summitHere’s how Trudeau’s carbon price will ac ...