Alberta appeals court rules that Canada’s federal carbon tax is unconstitutional

An Alberta court has ruled in a 4-1 decision that Canada’s carbon tax is unconstitutional, heating up a battle with the federal government for the Supreme Court to hear in March.

Justices at the Alberta Court of Appeal called the tax a “constitutional Trojan horse” that would set a precedent for the federal government to impose almost anything, and Premier Jason Kenney declared it illegal.

Ottawa imposed the consumer carbon tax on Alberta in January. Courts in Ontario and Saskatchewan last year ruled that it obeys the constitution.