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Sask. carbon tax injunction hearing cancelled as governments negotiate a deal

A judicial hearing into the injunction filed by the provincial government last week was abruptly cancelled on Friday. The court said that negotiations are ongoing between the governments of Canada and Saskatchewan.

The federal court located in Vancouver said the parties were “currently negotiating terms which could resolve the current dispute.” The statement was made just moments before the hearing was set to begin. There was no further comment from either the CRA or Government of Saskatchewan. If a solution is not agreed to by the end of today, the hearing will likely be rescheduled for later this week.

Saskatchewan is arguing that it is unconstitutional for the CRA to collect the $28 million in unpaid carbon tax after the provincial government announced it would not collect or remit the federal tax on home heating. The Canada Revenue Agency attempted to ‘garnish’ those funds last week.

Court documents show that the $28 million dollar tab has grown to $56 million as of the end of April, and will continue to grow as time passes.

Premier Scott Moe said it was unfair that the federal government made an exemption for Atlantic Canadians who use heat pumps while Saskatchewan’s primary resource was not exempt. Approximately 2.6% of Saskatchewan residents use heating oil, which would be exempt. SaskEnergy says 86% of residents use natural gas, while 13% use electric heating.

The federal government has not changed its stance on the issue, with federal Minister of Revenue Marie-Claude Bibeau saying the feds will not back down, and “The CRA is on the case, and has pursued collections as required by law.”

Negotiations are ongoing.

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Former President Trump shot at during rally, Canadian politicians respond

Shocking scenes at a Pennsylvania Trump rally over the weekend.

While being broadcast live on CNN, shots were heard and viewers saw the former President and current GOP nominee Donald Trump grab his ear and fall to the ground. He was removed from the stage after standing up and indicating he was fine.

Reporting detailed that the shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, died after firing multiple shots at Trump with one bullet killing a crowd member.

Canadian politicians took to social media to express a common message of disavowing political violence in all forms. Prime Minister Trudeau said, “I’m sickened by the shooting at former President Trump. It cannot be overstated — political violence is never acceptable. My thoughts are with former President Trump, those at the event, and all Americans.” Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre shared a similar message.

Premiers also took to X to condemn the violence. David Eby, Danielle Smith, Wab Kinew, Doug Ford, Francois Legault, Tim Houston, and Andrew Furey all released statements saying violence like this has no place in democracies.

While Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe did not release a statement, some Sask. Party MLAs took to X to make their opinions known. Dakota-Arm River candidate Barret Kropf condemned the violence.

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Federal polling unchanged four months after Liberals set goal

The federal Liberals led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have remained 20 points down in the polls for several months.

Back in April, the Globe and Mail reported that the Liberals had set an internal goal to narrow the polling gap by 5% by July of 2024. July has come and new polling has the liberals down by 20%. The gap has remained exactly the same since April.

The data reveals that the Conservatives lead in every province except Quebec, and are ahead in every voting demographic. Looking beyond pure vote intention, when asked, 85% of Canadians want to see a change in government. 59% of Canadians have a negative impression of the Prime Minister.

Abacus Data is reporting that the mood of the country has changed when compared to last month, but is moving in a negative direction with only 23% of Canadians feeling positive about the direction the country is moving.

Abacus CEO David Coletto reacted to the polling and said, “Now that the Toronto-St. Paul’s byelection loss has settled into people’s minds, we find little change in the overall orientation of Canadians to their political choices in Ottawa. The Conservatives are ahead by 20 points, the Prime Minister remains deeply unpopular, and the desire for change is broad and fairly deep.”

He continued by saying, “The mood of the country has soured to some extent over the past four weeks despite an interest rate cut. Weak employment numbers means we may see a shift in public mindset from one where the cost of living and affordability are the primary concerns to one where job security is front and centre. This climate will continue to put pressure on the incumbent Liberal’s support and reinforce the public’s desire for change.”

You can read the full data here.

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More news and info

• Canadians are divided on how to fund NATO defense target spending (Nanos Research)

• Denturists, dental hygienists, assistants back dental care plan despite dentist criticism (CBC News)

• Some Manitoba-Sask. border communities brace for evacuations from fire (Global News)

• Crowding at Sask. women’s jail has reached crisis level, advocate says (CBC News)

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