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Three weeks ago, Prince Edward Island confirmed it is preparing a climate action plan that does not include a carbon tax. PEI Environment Minister Richard Brown said: “If the objective is to reduce carbon in the air, and we have a plan to do that, then why do we need a tax?”

No doubt other provinces are asking the same question, as Ottawa’s Sept. 1 deadline for carbon pricing proposals approaches.

So this is the situation we find our nation in:

Two or perhaps three provinces are in compliance with the federal carbon pricing plan;

Two provinces are challenging the plan in court;

And a number of the remaining provinces and territories will not be in compliance come September.

The federal government would be well advised to take a step back to reassess and consider the withdrawal of its one-size-fits-all carbon tax and adopt a more collegial approach to addressing climate change.

It’s time the federal government stepped back and took another look at what the provinces are actually doing to combat climate change.

In Saskatchewan, we have released a climate change plan — Prairie Resilience — that will lead to a real reduction in greenhouse gas emissions without a carbon tax that would cost our province’s energy intensive, export-oriented economy $4 billion over five years.

In Saskatchewan, we are in the process of doubling our renewable power to 50 per cent of our electrical generating capacity, in part by working with First Nations on innovative projects.