Moe’s Own Budget Exposed His Deception, Media Interviews Last Week Reinforced It
REGINA – Carla Beck’s team is calling out Premier Scott Moe and the entire Sask. Party Caucus for lying to the very people that elected them about being “carbon tax free” for more than 400 days.
MOE HIMSELF ADMITS HE’S BEEN LYING ABOUT ‘CARBON TAX FREE’ CLAIM FOR MORE THAN 400 DAYS
Moe’s own budget documents and media interviews he gave just last week make it clear there is very much still a carbon tax in Saskatchewan, 419 days after Moe lied and said no such tax existed anymore. It wasn’t just the Premier lying in the Legislature, in the Premier’s Office and elsewhere — CIC and SaskPower Minister Jeremy Harrison repeatedly dismissed the possibility outright in the Legislature during the Spring Sitting and publicly attacked anyone suggesting otherwise.
Yet the Government’s own 2026/27 Budget includes a revenue line tied to Saskatchewan’s industrial carbon pricing system, while the 2025/26 fiscal forecast includes a receivable associated with Saskatchewan industrial carbon tax revenues.
“This government spent months telling Saskatchewan people one thing while its own financial documents said another,” said Trent Wotherspoon, Finance Shadow Minister. “Now, after repeated denials, the Premier is suddenly saying he is open to a Saskatchewan carbon tax framework similar to Alberta’s. Saskatchewan people deserve to know this Premier has chosen to be dishonest to them over and over to save his own political hide.”
Recently, Alberta and the Federal Liberal Government agreed to a deal that will see an effective industrial carbon price of $130 per tonne by 2040. Carney has said he’s working to standardize the model across the country and, in response, Moe said, “…In that same spirit of collaborating and finding a cross Canada solution that works for everyone, we’re open to that discussion, and we’ll continue with it.”
Jobs, Economy & SaskPower Shadow Minister Aleana Young said the issue is no longer simply about their carbon pricing policy — it is about honesty, transparency, and respect for the Legislature. Both the Premier and Minister Harrison were telling both the Legislature and the people of this Province one thing while at the same time doing something different.
“An industrial carbon price of $130 per tonne is not $0 like Scott Moe has been claiming,” Young said. “Recently, we caught this same Premier and the very same CIC Minister in a ten-fold lie about their $26-billion coal catastrophe.
“This Government is so desperate and will tell the people of Saskatchewan any work of fiction they can come up with to save their jobs. The people we’re talking to every day see right through this garbage and are ready for change.”
Beck’s team is calling on the government to:
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Release full details of any discussions with the federal government regarding an industrial carbon pricing framework;
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Explain why the provincial budget includes industrial carbon tax-related revenues and receivables despite repeated public denials
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Clarify when cabinet first began discussing a Saskatchewan industrial carbon pricing system after claiming previously it was being abolished.
“Saskatchewan people can debate this policy honestly,” Wotherspoon said. “But they cannot do that when this government refuses to level with the public about what it is actually doing behind closed doors.
“Families, seniors, and businesses all deserve the truth when it comes to government policy, not the games and deceit we saw over the past months.”
Last week, Beck’s team launched OpenTheBooks.ca, a new project devoted to exposing more of Scott Moe and the Sask. Party’s lies, coverups and gross mismanagement.
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