Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has stated that most Canada’s premiers would rather grumble and “make political hay” out of the federal carbon pricing program than present viable alternatives for reducing emissions.
Trudeau stated this while reacting to Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey’s call for an “emergency meeting of leaders,” just the latest of many last-ditch provincial efforts to prevent a higher fuel levy.
Furey, the only Liberal Premier in the country, is among many Atlantic leaders who teamed up with their counterparts in Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan to push Trudeau to abandon the planned $15-per-tonne increase, which became effective recently.
A lot of them have long opposed any carbon levy, but say the affordability crisis affecting Canadians is enough reason not to increase it further. Not long ago, Manitoba NDP Premier Wab Kinew confirmed he is working on a request for his province to be excluded from the federal backstop.
Trudeau said the increase would also mean bigger quarterly rebate cheques, which families are next set to get on April 15 to help offset the higher cost of fuel.
He and other proponents of carbon pricing say critics are not considering the fact that Canadian families receive quarterly rebate cheques, which are more benevolent to low-income households, to help offset the upfront costs.
During a news conference in Toronto, Trudeau said the Premiers have not proposed any alternatives.
He said: “All those premiers that are busy complaining about the price on pollution, but not putting forward a concrete alternative that they think would be better for their communities, are just playing politics.”
Furey in a letter to Trudeau defended the actions taken by his province to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, saying the government will make a “larger strategic investment” if it hopes to have “any meaningful impact” on Canada’s carbon output.
He wrote: “The threat of climate change is pressing. 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.”
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, who recently testified before a parliamentary committee about his opposition to the increase, tweeted that the only way to prevent further increases is a change in government.
