Alberta heading to court over 'unfair' federal carbon price

Premier Danielle Smith says Alberta has applied for a judicial review of Ottawa's exemption of the carbon levy on home heating oil. 

She says it's "blatantly" unfair to Albertans who rely on natural gas to heat their homes and that relief can’t wait with cold winter weather coming.

Alberta Justice Minister Mickey Amery says it took about a year for the province to assemble its legal argument and he expects it to take another year to work its way through court.

Amery says providing a benefit to those who use heating oil, predominantly in Atlantic Canada, undermines what's supposed to be a national standard.

Smith says the carbon levy is increasingly contributing to financial pain, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals say it puts money back into the pockets of Canadians in the form of rebates.

Smith says her United Conservative Party government is asking the court to declare the exemption both unconstitutional and unlawful in hopes of seeing the levy axed altogether.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 29, 2024.