Premier Scott Moe weighed in Tuesday on the federal government’s decision to reject the province’s proposed carbon pricing plan.

He says he doesn’t understand the rejection, as the plan is very similar to what other provinces have put forward.

“It aligns with all the initiatives that the Trudeau has approved for other provinces in the nation, said Moe. “We view this as very arbitrary, and a quite problematic denial for the province of Saskatchewan.”

Moe adds the provinces agriculture, energy, potash, and manufacturing sectors are leading the way in finding greener ways to do things with new methods being developed every day.

He says the rejection will do nothing but cause harm.

“The Trudeau government’s deliberate decision to tax the hard-working people, the families, and the innovative industries here in Saskatchewan is just simply not correct,” said Moe. “The fact that the federal government will not consider this proposal from Saskatchewan, for more than two years into the future, is short-sided, and will continue to penalize Saskatchewan people.”

Moe says as disappointed as he in with the government’s decision, he will keep fighting for a fair carbon pricing plan for Saskatchewan.

He adds the province wants to see this plan put into action sooner than later, as having it go back and forth is not helping anyone.

“The goal would be to not go back and forth, the goal most certainly would be to bring this all in under the provincial plan so that we can look at ways to recognize what we’re doing here in this province, recognize and reward those people that are making the very best decisions around climate change in a holistic way.”

Moe says the province will not be able to submit another plan to the federal government until at least 2023.