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Ottawa fires back at Alberta’s application for judicial review of carbon price

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EDMONTON – The federal government says Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s application for a judicial review of Ottawa’s carbon levy is nothing more than political posturing.

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault and Justice Minister Arif Virani say it’s disappointing, but not surprising, that Smith is engaging in a “political stunt” ahead of her United Conservative Party leadership review this weekend.

“She knows full well that the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in favour of carbon pricing,” they said in a statement to The Canadian Press Wednesday.

They said the three-year exemption for home heating oil is meant to give Canadians time to switch to cheaper forms of home heating.

In Alberta, a family of four is to get $1,800 this year through the carbon rebate, the largest in the country, they said.

“We remain fully confident in the legality of Canada’s carbon pricing system,” their statement said.

Smith announced Tuesday her United Conservative Party government is asking the Federal Court to declare the carve out both unconstitutional and unlawful in hopes of seeing the carbon levy axed altogether.

In a speech to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce Wednesday, Smith reiterated that the federal government has created a “double standard” by exempting heating oil, but not the natural gas many Albertans rely on.

“The carbon tax is an unnecessary punitive cost that does nothing to address affordability — and a higher cost of living means everything in life is more expensive,” she said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals have said carbon pricing was designed to combat climate change and put more money into the pockets of Canadians in the form of rebates.

When Ottawa offered the three-year exemption for home heating oil, it also announced it would double the rebate for rural Canadians.

Guilbeault and Virani said Smith’s government has refused to come to the table to open up their Oil to Heat Pump Affordability incentive program to Albertans.

Less than one per cent of households in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba use heating oil, according to the Alberta government.

In the past, Smith has urged lawmakers in Ottawa to pass an exemption for farmers using propane to dry grain and natural gas to heat barns.

Justin Brattinga, a spokesperson for Alberta’s Finance ministry, said in a statement the farm fuel exemption extends across the country.

“(This) is precisely our point. The heating oil exemption helps one specific region of the country and is a crass political move to attempt to buy votes in Atlantic Canada,” he said.

Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi has said Smith’s move is performative and demonstrates the premier would rather fight a lengthy legal battle with Ottawa than work to get a better deal for Alberta.

Still, he said, the federal government’s carve out for home heating oil has poisoned the well of public support for the carbon price.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 30, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Manitoba bill would require judges to undergo education on domestic violence and more

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WINNIPEG – Manitoba may soon require new provincial court judges to take continuing education on intimate partner violence, sexual assault, systemic racism and other topics.

A bill now before the legislature would require judges to undergo the learning, which would also cover the experiences of Indigenous and LGBTQ+ persons in the justice system and in society.

The bill is based on one originally proposed in April by Cindy Lamoureux, the lone Liberal in the legislature.

The NDP government did not initially support the bill, but has now drawn up its own and has Lamoureux’s support.

Justice Minister Matt Wiebe says unlike a private member’s bill, a government bill can come with money needed to ensure it is fully enacted.

The bill may not pass before the end of the legislature session on Nov. 7, as the Opposition Progressive Conservatives rejected a request to forgo normal time frames and speed the bill through the legislature.

“I think it is critical that it gets implemented here in the province of Manitoba as soon as possible,” Lamoureux said Wednesday. In a rare show of cross-party solidarity, Lamoureux and Wiebe stood side by side and spoke together to reporters.

Lamoureux’s bill, informally called Keira’s law, was named after Keira Kagan, a young girl who was found dead next to her father’s body at the base of a cliff in Milton, Ont. in 2020. A provincial committee found the death was “extremely consistent” with past cases of murder-suicide involving a father and a child.

Lamoureux’s bill called for new judges and justices of the peace to undergo training in coercive control in intimate partner and family relationships, sexual assault, intimate partner violence and systemic racism and discrimination.

The government bill introduced Wednesday will add permanent funding for the education and expand it to include the experience of Indigenous persons and LGBTQ persons in the justice system and in society generally.

“Folks know that overrepresentation of Indigenous people in our (justice system) is a focus of our government,” Wiebe said. The LBGTQ+ community has “unique experiences” that judges should have an understanding of, he added.

The Progressive Conservatives said they were not shown the bill before being asked to allow it to skip the normal debate time frame in the legislature chamber. The party’s house leader, Derek Johnson, said the NDP had months to pass Lamoureux’s original bill and did not.

Johnson said the Tories, who have bills of their own they would like to pass before the Nov. 7 deadline, will talk with the other parties.

“We’re absolutely open to negotiations,” Johnson said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 30, 2024

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Parkland Corporation earns $91 million in third quarter, down from a year earlier

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CALGARY – Parkland Corp. says it earned $91 million in the third quarter, down from $230 million during the same quarter a year earlier.

Revenues for the quarter ended Sept. 30 were $7.1 billion, down from $8.7 billion.

Net earnings per diluted share were 52 cents, from $1.28 during the same quarter last year.

President and CEO Bob Espey says the results fell short of expectations primarily due to a “challenging refining margin environment.”

He says the company continues to increase its market share amid softer economic conditions.

Parkland further revised its adjusted earnings guidance for the year lower, due to unfavourable market conditions and the unplanned shutdown of its Burnaby Refinery earlier in the year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 30, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:PKI)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Ontario sets table to balance the books ahead of possible early election

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TORONTO – Ontario sharply lowered its projected deficit for next year in a move the opposition suggests is all about setting the stage for a balanced budget just ahead of a possible spring election.

Earlier this year, the government had forecast a $4.6-billion deficit for 2025-26, but in its fall economic update presented Wednesday, that is now set at $1.5 billion.

The fiscal document shows revenues and expenses for that year are actually balanced, and the entirety of the projected $1.5-billion deficit is a $1.5-billion reserve. The province maintains its projection of a small surplus by 2026-27.

But Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said the province is not committing to balance the books this spring.

“Do I hope we beat our numbers? Absolutely, but hope is not a strategy, this is our plan,” he said.

Opposition leaders said the plans to explore building a tunnel under Highway 401, sending people $200 cheques, and preparing a possibly balanced budget next year are all evidence that Ford has an election on the brain.

“Almost everything you see in this fall economic statement – including the too cute situation of having a $1.5-billion deficit and a $1.5-billion contingency fund – just shows you the premier is putting his own political self-interest ahead of the people of this province that the government has abandoned,” said Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner.

Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie suggested having a $1.5 billion reserve as the whole deficit for next year is a shell game.

“We know very well they’re going to announce a balanced budget,” she said. “Of course, they’ll transfer the money over and pretend that there is no deficit and they’ve balanced the books, but nothing is further from the truth.”

NDP Leader Marit Stiles said what’s really concerning is “where are they not spending those dollars right now where people really need them?”

The province attributes the more positive outlook since the spring budget to population growth, more jobs, reduced inflation, lower interest rates and a boost from changes to capital gains taxes from the federal government.

It is projecting to take in $7 billion more in taxes compared to what was expected in the spring budget.

The capital gains tax changes proposed by the federal government have yet to become law, but Ontario has them baked into its projections to a tune of $3.3 billion.

Bethlenfalvy has said he expects that legislation to go through, though the minority federal Liberal government is in a precarious position and could fall at any time.

Premier Doug Ford previously said he was not in favour of the federal government’s changes to capital gains taxes, but it has helped the province’s bottom line.

It’s all good news for Ontarians, Bethlenfalvy said Wednesday.

“This lower deficit came thanks to a number of different factors, including higher revenues, lower borrowing and, of course, lower interest on debt,” he said. “In fact, our interest on debt relative to revenues is currently at its lowest level since the 1980s.”

Ford and Bethlenfalvy had already announced two main affordability items from the fiscal update, which serves as a mini-budget — a continuation of a cut to the gas tax, and a $3-billion plan to send $200 cheques to every Ontario taxpayer.

“I’m under no illusions that this will relieve all of the affordability pressures facing Ontario families, but it will help,” Bethlenfalvy said.

“I could wait maybe a couple of years to be able to provide some relief, but I think the relief has to happen now.”

Opposition critics have suggested the cheques that are set to be mailed early next year are timed to arrive ahead of a possible spring election.

Ford has repeatedly refused to rule out an early election ahead of the next fixed date of June 2026, although he has said an election will not come this year. Opposition parties are preparing for the possibility of an election next spring.

Ford and Bethlenfalvy have said the province can afford to mail out $3 billion in cheques because of higher-than-expected revenues due to the impact of inflation on provincial sales tax money coming into government coffers.

Program spending is up by $5 billion from the time of the budget, mostly due to the $3 billion being spent on the cheques and a top-up to the contingency fund. Ontario’s total spending is now over $218 billion.

Bethlenfalvy did not mention housing during his speech in the legislature on Wednesday.

In the fall statement, Ontario lowered its projections for how many new homes will get built, casting doubt on whether it can reach its goal of building 1.5 million homes by 2031.

The province has not met its annual target yet, although it came close last year after it started counting new long-term care beds. Ontario has 81,300 housing starts so far this year, compared to a 125,000 goal.

In his speech, Bethlenfalvy referenced Ford’s plan to tunnel an expressway underneath Highway 401. The fiscal statement does not set aside any money for that project, which is currently undergoing a feasibility study.

On the revenue side, the government is expecting an eventual increase in the dividend the Liquor Control Board of Ontario pays to the province, as a result of its expanded wholesale role in the alcohol marketplace that now includes convenience stores.

But in the short term, that increase is partly offset by costs of $99 million this year and $80 million next year in getting the expansion going, the fall economic statement shows.

It also shows that a two-week strike at the LCBO this summer led to a $102-million revenue hit. Alcohol consumption is down, which affected the liquor store’s projections.

“Consumption patterns have changed,” Bethlenfalvy said.

As part of the fall fiscal update, the province also recently announced it would cover the costs of tuition for more than 1,000 medical school students who commit to practising family medicine in Ontario.

It is also spending $150 million to expand the province’s in-vitro fertilization program.

The province will also give $100 million more over two years to municipalities as part of a general fund.

The province’s total debt rose to $429 billion, up more than $100 billion since Ford came to power in 2018.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 30, 2024.



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