Letter from Canada: Federal government attempts emissions strategy

Federal carbon pricing options may allow the central government to outflank provincial opposition

The Trudeau government surprised the Canadian oil and gas sector in the middle of July. As part of its consultation process to impose hard emission caps on the sector, the federal government offered a choice of two carbon pricing options: a sector-specific cap-and-trade system, or a modified carbon pricing system. The ultimate goal of these two options appears to be to force a reduction in Canadian oil and gas production, while avoiding a successful constitutional challenge from the producing provinces. The provinces have jurisdiction over resource development, but the federal government has the right to impose carbon taxes to combat climate change, based on a Canadian Supreme Court decision