Prime minister challenges premiers to present carbon tax alternative
Moe says levy will keep increasing `unless the government changes'
OTTAWA Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says premiers would rather complain and “make political hay” out of his federal carbon pricing program than present an alternative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Trudeau made the remarks after Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey wrote a letter urging him to convene an “emergency meeting of leaders” to discuss options, and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe tweeted Monday that the only way to prevent future increases is a change in government.
Furey is among seven provincial leaders who wanted Trudeau to forgo a planned $15-per-tonne increase in the federal consumer carbon price, which went into effect Monday. Many of them have long opposed any carbon levy, but say the affordability crisis plaguing Canadians is reason enough not to increase it further.
Trudeau says the increase will also mean larger rebates, which families are set to receive beginning April 15 to help offset the higher cost of fuel.
He says the premiers have failed to propose any alternatives, and would rather just complain and “make political hay” out of the issue.
In his letter to Trudeau, shared on social media, Furey defended the actions taken by his province to date to lower greenhouse gas emissions.
“The threat of climate change is pressing,” he wrote. “There is wide consensus that decarbonization is imperative; no serious counter-arguments remain. The only question is how best, at this time, to do so.”
In the days prior to Monday's increase, the four Atlantic premiers as well as their counterparts in Saskatchewan, Alberta and Ontario asked Trudeau to rethink the plan.
Moe, who last week testified before a parliamentary committee about his opposition to the increase, posted a tweet Monday he said was “( just) a reminder that the carbon tax increase is not just a bad April Fool's joke from the Trudeau-ndp government this year. It will continue to increase every April 1 until 2030, when it will be more than double what it is today. Unless the government changes.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who is riding high over the Liberals in public opinion polls, has challenged Trudeau to make the next federal vote a “carbon tax election.” The next federal election must take place on or before Oct. 20, 2025.
Poilievre has also spent the last month hosting “axe the tax” rallies across the country with the same message.
He was to hold a news conference Monday in Nanaimo, B.C., before an evening rally.
At around noon Monday, dozens of people were gathered on Parliament Hill, some waving “axe the tax” signs, while others draped themselves in Canadian flags or expletive-laced messages about the prime minister.
Protesters temporarily blocked the Trans-canada Highway linking Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
Trudeau and other carbon pricing proponents say critics are ignoring the fact that Canadian families receive quarterly rebate cheques, which are more generous to low-income households, to help them offset the upfront costs. They also point to the costs climate change has imposed on Canadians through disasters such as wildfires or floods.
Last week, some 200 economists and academics from universities across the country released an open letter defending carbon pricing as the most low-cost way to reduce emissions, as opposed to imposing stricter regulations.
The Liberal party circulated a petition on social media Monday accusing Poilievre of wanting to slash the rebate cheques, which range from $760 to nearly $1,800 per year, depending on where the recipient lives.