Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe doubles down after carbon comments criticized
Connor O’Donovan - Yesterday
© Adrian Raaber / Global News
At the legislature Monday, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe defended comments made last week regarding data showing Saskatchewan has the highest per capita carbon emissions in Canada.
"I'll stand with the 'I don't care' right now when it comes to the metric of per capita emissions," Moe told reporters following question period.
"Could I have chosen something a little less controversial? Potentially. But I think this is a time for our province to be bold."
Moe made the comments, which were first reported by the Prince Albert Daily Herald, while fielding questions at a Prince Albert Chamber of Commerce event Friday.
In response to an audience question about Saskatchewan's work on the environment and climate change, Moe said "I don't care" in reference to occasions where people remind him that data shows Saskatchewan has the highest per capita emissions in Canada.
Moe implied in his response that those emissions levels are directly tied to demand for Saskatchewan products, and that he thinks of the province as a world leader in delivering sustainable exports.
After criticism of the comments built online over the weekend, Saskatchewan NDP Environment, Energy and Resources Critic Erika Ritchie brought them up in question period Monday, calling them "irresponsible" and suggesting the government needs to do more to lower emissions and address climate change.
"We need serious leadership, and an all-government and economy-wide response to this problem and those remarks are not the kinds of things that give assurance to investors," she later told reporters in the rotunda.
"We are facing a global crisis. All governments need to be taking this seriously and putting all their efforts towards reducing emissions."
But later Monday, Moe again defended his dismissal of per capita measurements by pointing out that most of the products produced in Saskatchewan are exported beyond its borders.
He said Saskatchewan products are produced with less-damaging methods than are used in other jurisdictions, though he did not provide proof Monday to back up that statement.
"We have some of the highest-quality products in the world but they're competitively priced, And they're the most sustainable products that you can access in the world," he said.
Saskatchewan has outlined emissions targets in its Prairie Resilience climate change strategy, which was put into effect in 2018 to help the province "cope with, adapt to, and recover from stress and change."
SaskPower has since pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent over 2005 levels by 2030, and has announced intentions for net-zero GHG emissions by 2050.
Premier Moe defends 'I don't care' comments on per capita carbon emissions in Sask.
Premier Scott Moe is standing by comments he recently made dealing with criticism the Saskatchewan government has been facing over its environmental record.
© Michael Bell/The Canadian Press
On Monday, the opposition New Democratic Party raised concerns about a speech Moe made at a Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce event in Prince Albert.
In the speech, Moe said he wasn't bothered by criticism that Saskatchewan has the highest per capita carbon emissions in the country.
"A lot of folks will come to me and say, 'Hey, you guys have the highest carbon emissions per capita.'I don't care,'" said Moe during the speech.
"We have the highest exports per capita in Canada as well. We make the cleanest products and then we send it to over 150 countries around the world."
Speaking to reporters after Question Period, Moe clarified that he was speaking about the province being judged by per capita emissions, and that the province should instead be judged by the emissions used to create its products.
"When you look at Saskatchewan's products, we have the cleanest products in the world," said Moe.
"We have the lowest carbon content potash in the world. So, you should buy Saskatchewan potash when you're looking to buy some, maybe not that product from Russia or Belarus," said Moe.
Saskatchewan has long been criticized by environmental groups for its performance.
According to the 2021 National Inventory Report published by Environment and Climate Change Canada, the province's greenhouse gas emissions currently leads the country in emissions per capita.
The study found Saskatchewan's emissions decreased by one megatonne from 2018 to 2019 and remained at relatively stable levels from 2014 to 2019.
Opposition Environment Critic Erika Ritchie said Moe's comments are evidence the premier does not take climate change seriously.
"The kind of response we heard from the premier indicates a very flippant response to a serious crisis here," she told reporters.
"We need serious leadership and action taken by our government. We need an all-government response and an economy-wide response to this problem."
However, Moe countered and said that using per capita measures to compare Saskatchewan to other provinces is wrongheaded.
"I would put forward that anyone that is talking about per capita emissions really doesn't care about climate change in any way," he said.
"What they are trying to do is score cheap political points. We have the cleanest products in the world per tonne of potash, per tonne of agri-food products, per per unit of uranium that is produced here."
Saskatchewan has long been at odds with the federal government's climate change plan. Last year, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled 6-3 that the federal government's carbon pricing program was constitutional, despite a court challenge led by the provincial government.
In 2017, the Government of Saskatchewan released its own 'made-in-Saskatchewan' climate change strategy called Prairie Resilience, with more than 40 commitments to address climate change.
However, the plan does not set provincial goals to reduce emissions by 2030. The federal government has set a target to cut emissions by 40 to 45 per cent below 2005 levels by that time.
Premier Scott Moe is standing by comments he recently made dealing with criticism the Saskatchewan government has been facing over its environmental record.
© Michael Bell/The Canadian Press
Premier Scott Moe is defending recent comments he made about Saskatchewan's environmental performance in Prince Albert.
David Shield - CBC -Yesterday
On Monday, the opposition New Democratic Party raised concerns about a speech Moe made at a Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce event in Prince Albert.
In the speech, Moe said he wasn't bothered by criticism that Saskatchewan has the highest per capita carbon emissions in the country.
"A lot of folks will come to me and say, 'Hey, you guys have the highest carbon emissions per capita.'I don't care,'" said Moe during the speech.
"We have the highest exports per capita in Canada as well. We make the cleanest products and then we send it to over 150 countries around the world."
Speaking to reporters after Question Period, Moe clarified that he was speaking about the province being judged by per capita emissions, and that the province should instead be judged by the emissions used to create its products.
"When you look at Saskatchewan's products, we have the cleanest products in the world," said Moe.
"We have the lowest carbon content potash in the world. So, you should buy Saskatchewan potash when you're looking to buy some, maybe not that product from Russia or Belarus," said Moe.
Saskatchewan has long been criticized by environmental groups for its performance.
According to the 2021 National Inventory Report published by Environment and Climate Change Canada, the province's greenhouse gas emissions currently leads the country in emissions per capita.
The study found Saskatchewan's emissions decreased by one megatonne from 2018 to 2019 and remained at relatively stable levels from 2014 to 2019.
Opposition Environment Critic Erika Ritchie said Moe's comments are evidence the premier does not take climate change seriously.
"The kind of response we heard from the premier indicates a very flippant response to a serious crisis here," she told reporters.
"We need serious leadership and action taken by our government. We need an all-government response and an economy-wide response to this problem."
However, Moe countered and said that using per capita measures to compare Saskatchewan to other provinces is wrongheaded.
"I would put forward that anyone that is talking about per capita emissions really doesn't care about climate change in any way," he said.
"What they are trying to do is score cheap political points. We have the cleanest products in the world per tonne of potash, per tonne of agri-food products, per per unit of uranium that is produced here."
Saskatchewan has long been at odds with the federal government's climate change plan. Last year, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled 6-3 that the federal government's carbon pricing program was constitutional, despite a court challenge led by the provincial government.
In 2017, the Government of Saskatchewan released its own 'made-in-Saskatchewan' climate change strategy called Prairie Resilience, with more than 40 commitments to address climate change.
However, the plan does not set provincial goals to reduce emissions by 2030. The federal government has set a target to cut emissions by 40 to 45 per cent below 2005 levels by that time.
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