Canada’s prime minister is touting plans to bring in a “strong” price for carbon, but there are concerns about the impact of an additional tax.
The Liberal government’s intent to introduce a federal carbon tax has been met by opposition by provincial premiers, particularly Brad Wall of Saskatchewan, and members of the Conservative party who accuse the government of a tax grab.
Foothills MP John Barlow said the announcement of a federal carbon levy is not in keeping with Trudeau’s campaign promise to take a federalist approach to leadership and work in consultation with the provinces.
“Now this new federal carbon tax has been announced on top of the provincial carbon taxes many provinces already have, and that decision has been made without talking to the provinces,” said Barlow. “It’s a tax on a tax.”
It’s unclear how high the tax would be at this time, and the issue will hit Ottawa this fall when parliament reconvenes.
Barlow said provinces like British Columbia, Ontario, and soon Alberta have already put carbon taxes in place, and adding another levy would be devastating to the economy.
He said it could spell disaster for the energy sector and would make it difficult for companies to invest or do business in provinces like Alberta.
“Our province is struggling just to keep its head above water right now,” said Barlow. “Putting a federal carbon tax on top of the new provincial carbon tax would be like saying Alberta is closed for business.”
He said the Alberta government’s Climate Change Leadership Plan hasn’t made any significant difference in how the energy sector is perceived. The Northern Gateway pipeline and other projects are no further ahead than they were before, said Barlow.
Barlow said he’s unconvinced a new tax will make a difference in the country’s carbon footprint.
“No one has ever shown me any data that shows carbon taxes actually reduce emissions,” he said. “The carbon tax came into B.C. almost 10 years ago and they still don’t have tangible data that says emissions have dropped.”
Barlow expects the issue will be hotly debated in the fall, after seeing the opposition put up by premiers over the summer. He said the Conservatives would rather see any carbon tax handled at a provincial level rather than implementing a federal levy.
“To me, it’s just a prime minister who’s put us in enormous debt with no financial plan to get out of it looking to make some money back,” said Barlow. “It’s a tax grab. If the provinces are doing it, the federal government needs to get out of the way and let the provinces handle it.”
Calgary Liberal MP Kent Hehr said he’s surprised to hear opposition from the Conservative camp, considering support from people like Preston Manning who have endorsed carbon taxes as the way to reduce emissions.
In a written statement, he said the Liberal government is providing national leadership by working with the provinces and territories, despite claims they have not consulted with premiers.
“We won’t undo what the provinces have done, we will add to it,” said Hehr. “The prime minister and all the premiers agreed in principle to working together on carbon pricing mechanisms best suited to provincial and territorial economies across Canada.”
He said the carbon tax is one piece of a new program currently under development, the Pan Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change. The federal government is working with provinces and territories to design and implement the plan, he said.
Overall, the intent of the plan is to reduce emissions and boost the economy by introducing cleaner technology and carbon levies.
“Their work will be finalized this fall, and Prime Minister Trudeau will once again meet with the premiers to agree on Canada’s plan to move forward in tackling climate change,” said Hehr.
