CALGARY—The first ruling on the constitutionality of the federal carbon tax came down Friday, but the fight that has pitted multiple provinces against the federal government is far from over.

The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal ruled against a challenge to the carbon tax, known formally as the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, from the government of Saskatchewan, 3-2. The Saskatchewan government argued the act was an overreach into provincial jurisdiction.

But the ripple effects of the decision are being felt across the country since representatives from multiple provinces appeared as intervenors on both sides of the issue in mid-February. The governments of Ontario and New Brunswick, and Alberta’s United Conservative Party — then the official Opposition — argued against the federal tax in court. Meanwhile, the government of British Columbia, the Canadian Public Health Association, and the David Suzuki Foundation intervened to support the federal government plan.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, who has said a carbon tax hurts his province economically, said he will push for an appeal.

“Though I am disappointed by today’s ruling, our fight will continue on behalf of Saskatchewan people — who oppose the ineffective, job-killing Trudeau carbon tax,” he said Friday. “It was a 3-2 split decision and we look to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.”

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney also vowed to lend his support.

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The UCP, then the province’s official Opposition, supported the Saskatchewan government, arguing provinces should be able to construct their own carbon pricing plans. Kenney said his government will review the decision and join Saskatchewan in an appeal to the Supreme Court.

Mount Royal University policy studies professor Lori Williams said she expects Friday’s ruling will make it to the Supreme Court because of its national importance and the challenges the federal government faces from other provinces, like Manitoba and Ontario.

“If there’s a different decision in different provinces ... there’s just a very compelling argument for the Supreme Court of Canada to clarify the uncertainty,” Williams said.

Williams added this ruling puts more pressure on opposing bodies like Saskatchewan and Alberta, as well as the Conservative Party of Canada, to present stronger alternatives to the federal plan.

“Especially in light of some of the flooding that’s been happening, there may be more pressure placed on the provinces or (CPC Leader) Andrew Scheer to come up with something that is more acceptable,” Williams said.

In Alberta, Kenney has already promised to scrap Alberta’s carbon tax, introduced by the former NDP government, which went into force in 2017 at $20 per tonne, increasing to $30 in 2018. Instead, the UCP would introduce the Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction fund, under which large emitters would pay $20 per tonne, and would have to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 10 per cent in the first year. The rate would increase by 1 per cent every year.

“We believe that our strong plan makes a federal carbon tax redundant and that a consumer-punishing retail carbon tax — whether imposed by the NDP or by Justin Trudeau — is the wrong way to go,” Kenney said.

British Columbia sided with the federal government. The province has had a carbon tax for more than 10 years, making it the first jurisdiction in North America to implement a broad-based carbon tax. The current rate is $35 per tonne and it is set to increase by $5 per year until it reaches $50 in 2021. The B.C. government also appeared as an intervenor on the federal government’s side in Ontario’s parallel court challenge last month.

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Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN), a community in northern Alberta and Saskatchewan, also supported the federal government in the Saskatchewan challenge. In a written statement Friday, a spokesperson the ACFN believed the carbon tax was needed to deal with the “existential threat” of climate change.

“This case mattered to ACFN because of the alarming ways that climate change is affecting their traditional territory and Aboriginal way of life, for example by making hunting, trapping and fishing more difficult or dangerous,” lawyer Amir Attaran said in an emailed statement Friday.

“Climate change is to the ACFN an existential threat, which on current trends will make subsistence practices on the land impossible after thousands of years; nothing could be more serious or call into question their cultural survival as a people.”

The ACFN supported the federal government’s argument that climate change is a national concern, with strong legislation needed from both Ottawa and the provinces. They also argued proper consultation with Indigenous groups is needed.

Meanwhile, some provinces have stayed out of the fray completely. Stephen Thomas, energy campaign co-ordinator at the Ecology Action Centre in Halifax, said the Nova Scotia government’s decision not to intervene in these challenges has been wise.

“I think that it’s a big waste of money and energy and time to challenge these things in the courts instead of moving forward with strong climate action — because we really need it right now,” Thomas said.

Nova Scotia introduced a cap-and-trade system that went into effect Jan. 1. In this system, corporations are given a yearly limit for their greenhouse gas emissions, but can trade emission allowances by buying and selling them between companies.

The Nova Scotia government has said its ultimate goal is to reduce emissions to 45-50 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030. But Thomas said this plan isn’t strong enough to push emissions down.

“No matter what the style of carbon pricing, the strength of that measure is what’s most important,” said Thomas in an interview Friday. “Unfortunately, the cap-and-trade system here in Nova Scotia is quite weak in terms of the targets that it has set for itself, so it won’t reduce emissions more than about 1 per cent.”

The federal act was adopted June 21, 2018, creating a national carbon pollution pricing system. It acts as a benchmark provinces must hit, with the national carbon price imposed on provinces that don’t already meet this standard. That price starts at a minimum of $20 per tonne this year, rising $10 annually until 2022.

Provinces were given until January to set their own carbon price. Saskatchewan, Ontario, New Brunswick and Manitoba were the only four provinces to not meet this standard and have the federal tax imposed on them.

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