Canada’s environment minister says he’s disappointed by his Nova Scotia counterpart’s demand to “slow down” pricing on carbon pollution.
Steven Guilbeault responded a week after Nova Scotia Environment Minister Tim Halman revealed he wrote to the federal minister in July to say the provincial government did not believe now was the right time to introduce a federal carbon tax.
In a statement to CBC News, Guilbeault said the provincial government has every opportunity to create a pollution pricing system that returns revenue directly back to Nova Scotians.
“That’s the way the federal system is designed, eight out of 10 families get more than they paid,” he said.
As of 2019, Ottawa requires provinces to put a price on carbon. A federal carbon tax was imposed on provinces that could not – or would not – come up with their own system.
Nova Scotia has used a locally designed cap-and-trade system for large emitters, but with an update due next month on how the province will deal with increased federal requirements starting in 2023, there has been little word from the Tory government about what he will do.
Pricing pollution is simply the right thing to do
Hallman’s letter to Ottawa and subsequent framing of the issue in the legislature showed the federal carbon tax would add about 14 cents to a liter of gas early next year at a time when people can’t afford the extra cost.
The current cap-and-trade system only raised prices in the province by about one cent over what other provinces had, but that won’t keep up with incoming federal requirements that will increase every year until 2030.
Guilbeault rejected Halman’s argument that carbon pricing during high inflation is unfair.
“Ultimately, pollution pricing can both combat climate change and help families with affordability issues,” he said. “And pricing pollution is just the right thing to do, especially in the current environmental context.”
Provincial government documents obtained by CBC News and AllNovaScotia.com in June show that while the federal tax will increase the cost of gas and electricity, it will also generate about $1 billion for Nova Scotia that the government can use to to offset the cost of living increases. The documents provide more information than the current or previous government has shared with Nova Scotians about potential options and their implications.
In his statement, Guilbeault noted that other provinces that have a federal tax have been able to send money back to their residents.
Ways to offset the effects of a carbon tax
According to Guilbeault, in 2022-23 a family of four will receive $745 in Ontario, $832 in Manitoba, $1,101 in Saskatchewan and $1,079 in Alberta. The federal system also has special provisions for rural Canadians and farmers, he said.
Guilbeault said if anything is driving up the price of gas, it’s industry.
“The fact is that Canadian gasoline refining margins increased by more than 113 percent between June 2019 and June 2022, and oil and gas companies are experiencing record cash flows. The high price of gas has more to do with getting [gouged] at the pump than carbon pricing.”
Before last week, the Tories had said little about their carbon pricing plans since coming to power a year ago. The issue in Nova Scotia has largely avoided the political rhetoric that has been adopted in other provinces, but that appears to be changing.
An emerging political issue
Members of the government have accused the opposition of supporting higher gas prices if they are unwilling to speak out against a federal carbon tax. The Tories instead proposed increased support for green technologies, clean energy and an updated electricity grid as ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
At Province House on Tuesday, Hallman read a resolution calling for all-party support against the federal carbon tax without debate. At least one NDP member voted against it, believing the issue deserved debate. Moments later, the government issued a press release accusing the NDP and Liberals of not standing up for Nova Scotians. Derek Mombourquet, the Liberal House leader, quickly stood up in the House to say that his party did, in fact, support the resolution.
Guilbeault’s statement addresses the emerging political nuances of the issue in the province, while drawing on some of his own.
“Climate change is the crisis that will be with us for a long time. Pricing pollution doesn’t have to be the political issue many conservative politicians want it to be—not when anti-pollution policies can be used to both help families with living expenses and insist heavy industries like oil and gas clean up the act. you are.”
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