LIBERALS REVEAL CARBON TAX HIKE

Ontario, Alberta join Tories to criticize `tax grab'

OTTAWA • The federal Liberals announced a new climate plan Friday that will see the carbon tax jump from $50 per tonne in 2022 to $170 per tonne by the year 2030.

The carbon tax hike was met with dismay in some provinces, with Ontario Premier Doug Ford calling it a tax grab and Alberta Environment Minister Jason Nixon saying it was Ottawa imposing its values on the province.

The plan will see $15 per year increases from 2022 to 2030 and will raise the cost of gasoline, natural gas home heating and other goods dependent on fossil fuels.

But the government says most families subject to the federal tax will recoup more than they pay through rebates, which will soon be distributed quarterly instead of annually.

It also includes $ 15 billion in spending on items such as energ y- efficient building retrofits, renewable energy projects, incentives for zero-emission vehicles and funding for Indigenous and remote communities to move off diesel fuel.

“There is no vaccine against a polluted planet,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in announcing the plan. “It’s up to us to act, because there is a real cost to pollution.”

T he Ontario premier, whose government is challenging the carbon tax as unconstitutional, took a different tone.

“Folks, this carbon tax is going to be the worst thing you could ever see,” Ford said.

“I'm a strong believer of protecting the environment. But you don't have to protect the environment on the backs of the hard working people of this province and this country at a time when people are barely holding on by their fingernails,” said Ford.

Calling it a tax grab, Ford said he's “never, ever, ever been more disappointed in an announcement.”

Federal Conservative environment critic Dan Albas slammed the government for announcing an increase to taxes while a pandemic still rages.

“This increase will mean that Canadians will pay more for groceries, home heating, and add up to 37.57 cents per litre to the cost of gas,” Albas said.

The Conservatives also pointed to the word games that Catherine Mckenna, then the Liberal environment minister, had played with the carbon tax before last year's election. In June 2019, Mckenna had said “the plan is not to increase the price post-2022,” which she later walked back to say the government's plan only went to 2022 and had “no intention” to change the price until consulting with the provinces.

“The Trudeau Liberals promised that they wouldn't raise the carbon tax, but that is exactly what they are doing today,” Albas said. “This is just another example of the Trudeau Liberals promising one thing to get elected, and then breaking their promise when they no longer need your vote.”

On Friday, neither Trudeau nor Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson would specifically answer when they were asked whether the federal government had consulted with provinces on the plan. Wilkinson only said there had been general “conversations” on the topic with provinces.

“We've been very clear as a government that our view is that the price on pollution is the most efficient way to reduce emissions, that incents innovation, and it is a critical part of the plan going forward,” Wilkinson said. “All of the provinces and territories are aware of that, and that conversation will continue.”

The Supreme Court of Canada will soon rule on a provincial challenge that argues the federal carbon tax is an unconstitutional overreach by Ottawa. If the court sides with the federal government, provinces would either have the federal tax imposed on them or be required to ensure their own carbon pricing regime grows equivalently with the federal one.

If the court rules against the federal government, the Liberals may have to go back to the drawing board on their climate plan, depending on what exactly the court says. Trudeau did not say what the government would do if they lose, instead criticizing the provincial governments that have opposed carbon pricing.

“There are some places in this country that still want to make pollution free again,” he said. “We're not going to do that.”

Alberta's environment minister called the carbon tax increase “another attack on Alberta's economy and on Alberta's jurisdiction.”

Nixon said Alberta is already making progress on reducing emissions through its own programs, such as methane reduction initiatives and hydrogen and carbon capture programs.

“On a federal level, the prime minister continues to impose this Ottawa-knowsbest attitude on Alberta, at a time when Albertans can least afford it,” Nixon said.

The plan announced on Friday does not have details on another policy that could increase fuel costs, the Clean Fuel Standard. Officials said those details will be coming soon. However, the government did say those regulations will now only apply to liquid fuels, not gas or solid.

The government will also “explore the potential of border carbon adjustments,” the background documents say, promising Canada will “work with like- minded economies — including the EU and Canada's North American partners — to consider how this approach could fit into Canada's broader strategy to meet climate targets while ensuring a fair environment for businesses.”

The goal of the climate plan is to reduce Canada's greenhouse gas emissions to 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, a target that had also been set by the previous Conservative government, but which the government was not on track to achieve. The government says this new plan will put it on track to exceed the target for the first time.

“By further working with provinces and territories, the government is confident Canada can achieve reductions within the range of 32 to 40 per cent below 2005 levels in 2030,” the background documents say.

Other items in the plan include:

$ 1.5 billion over three years for green and inclusive community buildings, with 10 per cent reserved for Indigenous communities;

$ 2.6 billion over seven years for homeowners making their homes more energy efficient;

$ 287 million over two years for the Incentives for Zero- Emission Vehicles program, which provides a rebate of up to $5,000 on a light-duty zero-emission vehicle;

$ 150 million over three years for charging and refuelling stations across Canada;

$ 964 million over four years for renewable energy and grid modernization projects;

$ 300 million over five years to help rural, remote and Indigenous communities currently relying on diesel to switch to clean energy.