Sask. premier will 'flex provincial autonomy' after feds announce emissions cap

Premier looking at provincial autonomy WATCH: Premier Moe has brought forth former and current MLAs to look at what provincial autonomy could look like. Luke Simard explains.

REGINA — Saskatchewan’s premier expressed growing frustration with the federal government’s policies on the oil and gas sector – saying the province will be “flexing its provincial muscles” going forward.

On the Roy Green Show Sunday, Scott Moe said the emissions cap placed on the oil and gas sector by Ottawa has created a “national unity issue”.

“We're going to be looking for every opportunity for us to carve out our provincial autonomy, whether it be in the energy industry, whether it be in the immigration file, whether it be in the collection of taxes,” Moe said.

“I think you're going to see you know, many more steps just like that in the weeks and months and even the years ahead, as long as this federal government continues to work against the province's best interests.”

At the 26th meeting of the Council of Parties to the UN Climate Convention, the prime minister formally launched Canada’s latest effort to reduce Canada's greenhouse gas emissions by committing to a cap on emissions from the country's oil and gas sector.

The cap was promised in the Liberals' recent election platform, with plans to force emissions down until they hit net zero in 2050. A lack of regulations for the oil and gas sector has long been a sore spot between environmental groups and Ottawa.

Moe said Saskatchewan will be forced to purchase oil from Saudi Arabia, as a result of the cap. He's also disappointed Saskatchewan's oil and gas sector was not consulted about the cap.

“It'll be [a] much higher environmental footprint and it's going to cost us more as well,” Moe said Sunday.

Moe believes such a cap would only drive prices up at gas stations, and ultimately increase emissions by decreasing Canadian fossil fuel production.

He told the recent Sask. Party convention that if the world’s oil and gas producers practiced the extraction methods Saskatchewan does, “global emissions and oil production would drop by 25 per cent overnight.”

He said purchasing oil from abroad leaves Saskatchewan – and Canada – vulnerable to the stipulations placed on the industry by other countries.