Freeland defends federal carbon tax

• Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland stood by her government's budget at a parliamentary committee Thursday, defending the carbon tax and the Liberals' economic performance from Conservative MPs.

The House of Commons Finance committee took a break from a filibuster, where Conservative MPs have been pushing to have former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney testify, to have Freeland testify.

Carney is rumoured to be considering a run for Liberal leader at some point in the future, as is Freeland. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has repeatedly insisted he will run in the 2025 election and has no plans to step down.

Carney did appear at a Senate committee Wednesday night and said the Liberals' carbon tax has served a purpose and anyone who wants to replace it needs to provide a credible alternative.

Conservative MP Jasraj Singh Hallan sparred with Freeland over the carbon tax and demanded to know if she would keep it in place.

“Before you launch your campaign, we wanted to know will you continue down the path of Justin Trudeau and quadruple the carbon tax?” he asked Freeland.

Freeland defended the tax, pointing to rebates, and said the entire cabinet fully supports Trudeau. She also dismissed Hallan's line of questioning.

“I'm not sure the best use of this committee's precious time is to indulge in political speculation,” she said.

Freeland said countries around the world are demanding climate change policies from their trading partners and Canada can't afford to not have a climate policy.

“The only way for us as an open trade-exposed economy, to have an economic plan actually work, to actually be able to attract foreign investment, to actually be able to sell what we produce, is to have a strong and credible climate plan,” she said.

NDP MP Don Davies asked Freeland why corporate tax increases had not been part of the budget, given the U.S. was considering a corporate tax hike.

“Do you agree with me that opens up room for us to have a measured increase in corporate taxes in Canada that would help with revenue for the federal government?” he asked Freeland.

Freeland said she learned from NAFTA not to assume anything about U.S. politics and that, while U.S. President Joe Biden has announced the increase, many things could happen.

“I do think all of us need to be thoughtful about Canada's global competitiveness,” she said.

Freeland did commend an international process that led to Canada and most other countries agreeing to set a minimum corporate tax rate to prevent companies from shopping for the lowest rates.

She said having all countries agree to a floor of 15 per cent for corporate taxes is an important step.