Saskatchewan Party leadership candidate Ken Cheveldayoff said the possibility of a carbon tax - which he plans to fight - was a top issue when he met with a number of agricultural groups in Swift Current on Monday.

Cheveldayoff said at a listening forum he asked representatives from groups including the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, Canadian Canola Growers Association, Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, and Cattlefeeders Assocation - among others - what government is doing well and what government could do better.

Cheveldayoff said while he heard government was doing well in some areas related to agriculture, he also heard they could do better with the federal government's proposed carbon tax looming.

"I'm against the carbon tax, but more than that, there's a great story to tell about agriculture and the carbon sink that it is, and how there's a better way to reach the same goals as the federal government is trying to do through the carbon tax, through innovation and food security and things like that," he said.

Revenues from a carbon tax would go back to the province, though provinces that have enacted their own legislation (that meets federal guidelines) would have autonomy over how that money is used.

Premier Brad Wall has been vehemently opposed to a carbon tax, and has not shown any desire to create a provincial carbon tax.

"I think Brad Wall's done a fantastic job," said Cheveldayoff. "He's taken it very seriously and certainly interacted very well - built coalitions with other premiers across the country. And I think that's what has to happen with the carbon tax. We've reached out to Manitoba and they would share I think a lot of the same positions that we would in Saskatchewan, and Alberta should be on side with us as well. So that would be the job of the new premier, to ensure that those coalitions - on important topics such as the carbon tax - would be in place."

Cheveldayoff said they've looking at "legal options" should it get to the point where the province is forced to adopt a carbon tax.

While it's not black and white as to which level of government has jurisdiction over implementing a carbon tax, a Supreme Court decision from 1988 might work in favour of the federal government.

Nathalie Chalifour is an associate professor of law at the University of Ottawa and wrote about different arguments federal and provincial levels of government could make in her 2009 piece, 'The Constitutional Authority to Levy Carbon Taxes.'

One case she did cite was the precedent-setting 1988 Supreme Court of Canada ruling, R. v. Crown Zellerbach Canada Ltd. There, it was determined that British Columbia's failure to protect its waters could have a negative impact outside of its own borders, which put the matter within the federal government's law-making jurisdiction.

The Canadian Constitution allows the federal government to legislate in areas that are for the Peace, Order, and Good Government of the country when there is something of national concern. But R. v. Zellerbach is just one court case that could apply to a grey area-laden constitutional court battle.