The Manitoba government is still pushing back against a federally imposed price on carbon.

Brian Pallister told reporters at the Legislature Thursday that Manitoba would be seeking legal advice on the constitutionality of a federally imposed carbon plan.

"That opinion will assess whether the federal government has the constitutional authority to impose a specific carbon pricing backstop that supercedes all or part of a provincial plan."

Pallister says in particular they will look into whether the federal government can limit the provinces to two options: either cap and trade, or carbon tax.

He also believes Manitoba should be recognized for the work its already done, pointing to hydro power as a carbon emissions-reducer in itself.

"Manitobans have invested billions of dollars in clean energy, generated by Manitoba Hydro... had we chosen a less costly option, for example burning fossil fuels, we would be doubling our emissions... so in that sense, we have been paying a carbon tax for a long time already. We are already doing the heavy-lifting and will continue to do the heavy-lifting."

The federal government released a carbon pricing backstop earlier this month, and asked for feedback by June 30th. It is composed of two key elements: a carbon levy applied to fossil fuels and an output-based pricing system for industrial facilities that exceed the threshold. The levy on fossil fuels is to be $50 per tonne by 2022.

Pallister says Manitoba will support and will participate in action on climate change, but it will be through a made-in-Manitoba plan that addresses this province's circumstances and is attentive to the economic realities here. He isn't releasing details of Manitoba's plan yet, saying that it will come out over a period of time. He says they have a draft, but will still be hearing more from Manitobans, and the plan will be part of pre-budget consultations this fall. Pallister argues it would be premature to get into Manitoba's carbon plan if the federal government can make it irrelevant.

Federal environment minister Catherine McKenna says the legislation to be introduced this fall will be consistent with the constitution. And she says the federal government will work with Manitoba to find a solution that works here, but they expect provinces to abide by Ottawa's minimum requirements.