Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to hold an emergency meeting with the country’s premiers to discuss the April 1 carbon tax increase.
Mr. Poilievre has asked the prime minister in a formal letter to meet with provincial and territorial leaders within the next six weeks to address the “carbon tax crisis.”
“Included in these discussions should be your willingness to allow the provinces to opt out of the federal carbon tax and pursue other responsible ideas for lowering emissions without taxes,” Mr. Poilievre wrote in the April 2 letter posted on social media.
He went on to note broad opposition to the 23 percent tax increase, which saw carbon pricing rise from $65 to $80 per tonne of emissions. Seven out of 10 provincial premiers have openly criticized the $15 per tonne increase and polls show roughly 69 percent of Canadians are also opposed.
“You are making life even more unaffordable to everyone while missing every single environmental target you establish,” Mr. Poilievre wrote.
Premiers Want Alternative to Carbon Tax
Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey, a member of the Liberal Party, has already called for an emergency meeting with the prime minister. The move came after several provincial premiers testified before a House of Commons committee last week regarding the carbon tax increase.Premier Scott Moe of Saskatchewan told the Government Operations and Estimates committee that his province had looked into alternatives to the federal carbon tax but found they were too expensive and would be no better than the federal pricing system.
He did, however, note that his province has been trying to tackle emissions using incentives, such as its Heavy Emitter Fund, which taxes heavy emitters and redirects those funds into a technology fund that gives money to those developing technologies to reduce, sequester or capture emissions.
“We should ensure that we are making every effort to make our cleaner products available to the world, displacing some of those dirtier products that are approved in other areas,” he said, noting that Canada could play more of a global role in tackling emissions.
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs echoed Mr. Moe’s statements during his own testimony before the committee. He said if his province was able to develop its own liquid natural gas industry, it would be able to export energy overseas and reduce reliance on coal power in regions like China and Europe.
“We have the resources, which we’ve always thrived on [and] we have the ability to have major climate change impact beyond our borders beyond the 1.5 percent of emissions that currently we’re focused on internally,” Mr. Higgs said.
Mr. Poilievre has been campaigning across the country to “axe” the carbon tax and has made several attempts to halt the tax increase, including presenting a vote of no confidence in the House of Commons last month. The vote was unsuccessful.
Mr. Trudeau has defended the carbon tax increase, claiming the government rebates will benefit eight in 10 Canadian households. The figures have been disputed by the Conservatives, using figures released by the Parliamentary Budget Officer that state most households will see a net loss despite the rebate.
