Kenney government should have been prepared in the event of a loss in carbon tax ruling: professor
Posted Mar 26, 2021 8:28 pm.
Last Updated Mar 27, 2021 11:14 am.
CALGARY (660 NEWS) — After the ruling from the Supreme Court that the federal carbon tax is constitutional, the Kenney government is trying to find a way out of the court loss.
On Friday, the premier stated they will now look at all of their options available instead of introducing a plan forward.
The provincial government will now have to navigate its way through the federal carbon tax and Kenney is trying to make sure Albertans don’t share the brunt of that cost.
RELATED: Kenney says Alberta didn’t prep carbon tax fallback plan, was hoping to win in court
While trying to ease the pressure on everyone in the province, Mount Royal University political science professor Duane Bratt says it seems Kenney didn’t his homework.
“Were there any scenario planning that they went through? I think that would be the obvious follow-up because it’s inconsistent with almost everything we know about Jason Kenney that they hadn’t looked at contingencies,” said Bratt.
Bratt adds that while they may have not laid out an entire plan, the government should have had a scenario of what they will do next, instead of leaving it up to Albertans to decide.
“They should have discussed ‘What do we do in the event we lose this case, where do we go forward?’ and based on the press conference (on Thursday) it doesn’t sound like they really did develop much outside of saying ‘well we’ll consult with Albertans.'”
As the UCP government now needs to decide what comes next, Bratt says it may have been easier if they didn’t fully scrap the NDP tax.
“That’s the problem that Kenney faces, is that there was a made in Alberta carbon tax plan, and he dismantled it.”
