New NWT Premier Wants Carbon Tax Exemption: ‘It Doesn’t Work for the Northwest Territories’

A dump truck works near the Syncrude oil sands extraction facility near Fort McMurray, Alberta, in a file photo. The Canadian Press/Jason Franson

The new premier of the Northwest Territories is requesting the federal government provide the territory with a blanket exemption from the carbon tax, arguing that the higher cost of living is undermining the effectiveness of the tax.

“Here in the Northwest Territories, the cost of living is high. The cost of fuel, home heating, of power, they have always been high,” R.J. Simpson said on Dec. 10 on CBC’s Rosemary Barton Live.