EDMONTON—The government of Alberta has added its side of the story to the ongoing struggle with Ottawa over the looming federal carbon tax.

Alberta’s Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer said in a news release that they would be filing a statement of facts in the province’s Court of Appeal on Friday “to challenge the constitutionality of the imposition of a federal carbon tax on Albertans.”

“This factum provides our full legal argument and full fact scenario so our Court of Appeal can hear and make a decision based on the unique evidence we present,” Schweitzer said.

In June — about a week after the newly elected United Conservative government repealed the province’s own carbon tax — the federal government said it would be imposing a carbon tax on Alberta by Jan. 1, 2020.

“It’s unfortunate because Alberta had a made-in-Alberta plan to put a price on pollution and we clearly need Alberta to be part of our national climate plan as Alberta has the highest emissions in the country,” Canada’s Environment Minister Catherine McKenna said at the time.

Alberta’s carbon levy sat at $30 per tonne of carbon before it was turfed, and if Ottawa has anything to say about it, Alberta will join four other provinces in having the federal tax imposed.

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But Friday’s court filing could present a roadblock.

“Ottawa’s unilateral imposition of a carbon tax on Albertans constitutes unprecedented federal interference with our constitutional authority to manage affairs within our own jurisdiction,” said Schweitzer.

A federal election also looms ahead of the Jan. 1 date when the tax is set to take effect.

Alberta’s UCP government has pushed back on the carbon tax system and claims its own strategy for dealing with emissions will suffice. Introduced during the election campaign, the United Conservatives said they wanted to tax large industrial emitters and set up a Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction fund (TIER).

Under the TIER initiative, large emitters would have to slash their emissions by 10 per cent in the first year and then the rate would increase by 1 per cent every year after. Money brought in from the levy placed on large emitters would flow into the TIER fund to help spur emission-reducing technology.

Manitoba, New Brunswick, Ontario, and Saskatchewan have all been draped with the federal tax, but Saskatchewan has appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada.

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“Our government has been clear: we will use every legal tool at our disposal to fight the federal carbon tax and stand up for the rights of Albertans,” Schweitzer said.

With files from The Canadian Press

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