The province’s cities and towns came out in support of the Premier’s hard-line approach to Ottawa’s carbon tax proposal on Tuesday.
But they’ve tacked on a proviso: Saskatchewan’s municipalities need to find other ways of combatting the looming threat of climate change.
An anti-carbon tax resolution hit the floor of the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association and provoked “lots of healthy debate,” said Prince Albert city councillor Ted Zurakowski.
Zurakowski said that a Moose Jaw delegate proposed an amendment softening the initial resolution.
“After much debate, an amendment was proposed and accepted, that elected representatives provide a leadership role in dealing with climate change and coming up with alternatives,” he said.
The resolution, with that amendment, passed. Zurakowski supported it, as did at least three other Prince Albert councillors, he said.
“It’s great to go ahead and provide support for the government position, but it has to be a bigger position,” Zurakowski said. “What are we doing as a province to deal with the issue? If we don’t like what the feds are doing, we to look in the mirror and ask what we are doing.”
For more on this story, please see the Feb. 8 print or e-edition of the Prince Albert Daily Herald.
