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EDMONTON — The Alberta legislature will return with a throne speech on Wednesday, and Premier Jason Kenney has vowed to put an end to the carbon tax by the end of the month.

However, that probably won’t be the end of it. The federal government has the power to put in place its own “backstop” carbon pricing on provinces without a tax of their own, as it has done already in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario and New Brunswick. But it’s unclear, as yet, how long it will take Ottawa to impose that tax on Alberta.

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“If a decision is taken to implement the federal system, we will move as quickly as possible in order to minimize a gap in coverage,” said Sabrina Kim, an environment ministry spokesperson.

If the federal government does implement a carbon tax, Kenney promised on the campaign trail to fight it in court, arguing it is unconstitutional, despite the fact that the Saskatchewan government lost its own court challenge on May 3. Ontario’s challenge is ongoing.