The Supreme Court of Canada's ruling last week that the federal carbon tax is constitutional has caused some concerns for Foothills MP John Barlow.

He says the decision could be the start of a slippery slope.

"I look to the dissenting opinion of some of the justices including Russell Brown, he really warned that this is a danger and the majority lies in the abandonment of any meaningful constraints on federal powers, so he's basically saying the federal government is continuing to expand its powers into provincial jurisdictions," he says. "That is one thing that we have to be wary of, I think the environment and emissions and all those types of things have historically been provincial jurisdiction so that is concerning."

Barlow says the court's decision doesn't change his position, or the Conservative party's position that it will repeal the carbon tax if they win the next election.

He says the government's goal is to get Canadians to park their cars and and use public transit or bicycles to get around but that's simply not feasible in many parts of the country.

"That may work if you live in downtown Toronto but that does not work if you live in Foothills for example, where access to public transit is extremely limited, we have to drive a great distance for work, I can't ask my farmers to put cattle on the subway, there are just realistic things that aren't possible in most parts of the country," Barlow says.

He says when it comes to addressing greenhouse gas emissions and climate change we don't feel that imposing a tax on the poorest in Canada makes much sense especially a tax that is proportionally more harmful to rural communities.

 

Send us your news tips, story ideas and comments at news@highriveronline.com