Trudeau once again defended his government’s key climate policy despite broad political opposition, citing the costly economic impacts of climate change
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OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his goal is not to win a popularity contest as he doubled down on his government’s carbon tax, despite calls from Conservatives and seven premiers, including Canada’s lone Liberal premier, asking him to halt the planned increase on April 1.
“My job is not to be popular — although it helps,” he told reporters in Calgary on Wednesday. “My job is to do the right things for Canada now and do the right things for Canadians a generation from now, and that’s what I’ve been focused on. And yeah, it’s not always popular.
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“But I know that doing the right things today… that deliver that better future one generation from now, two generations from now, is going to make a huge difference in the path we take forward.”
The federal carbon price is set to go up by $15 on April 1, from $65 to $80 a tonne. The fifth yearly increase has prompted Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to launch a “Spike the Hike” campaign in the weeks leading up to the price increase, and he has been pounding his messages to Canadians in town halls across the country.
Most of Canada’s premiers have also been echoing a similar message, citing the continually increased cost of living.
Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey, a Liberal, wrote to Trudeau this week to ask him to pause the carbon tax increase “at least until inflation stabilizes, interest rates lower and related economic pressures on the cost of living sufficiently cool.”
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The other conservative premiers — Ontario’s Doug Ford, Nova Scotia’s Tim Houston, New Brunswick’s Blaine Higgs, Prince Edward Island’s Dennis King, Alberta’s Danielle Smith and Saskatchewan’s Scott Moe — have also all called for a pause.
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, a New Democrat, was less clear. He said that he has been making the case to the federal government that the federal carbon-tax backstop should not be applied in his province, based on the justification that most of Manitoba’s electricity is from hydro. But Kinew would not say Wednesday if he is asking Trudeau to pause the April 1 increase.
Quebec and British Columbia have their own carbon pricing systems and therefore are not subject to the federal carbon tax.
Trudeau criticized Poilievre for wanting to scrap the tax.
“That’s an easy thing for short-term thinker politicians that say, ‘Oh, we’ll get rid of the price.’ They don’t talk about the fact that they’re also going to get rid of that cheque, the Canada Carbon Rebate, that puts more money in the pockets of the vast majority of Canadians,” he said.
The Parliamentary Budget Officer has put that claim into question after accounting for the direct and indirect economic costs of the carbon tax and said most households would see a net loss by 2030.
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Trudeau also said that Conservatives have not presented an alternative to the carbon tax.
“They don’t have a plan, or they don’t talk about how they’re going to actually use the heavy hand of government through regulations or through subsidies or some other way to pick winners and losers in the economy as opposed to trusting the market,” he said.
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Trudeau, who was in Alberta for the second time in a month, once again defended his government’s key climate policy by citing the costly economic impacts of climate change.
He said that Canada had one of its worst years for wildfires ever last year, on top of some of the worst years for floods and droughts in different parts of the country. He noted that Alberta declared a start to its forest fire season in February 10 days earlier than usual due to warmer and drier weather.
“For decades now, as people saw the challenges with the environment, the political will just wasn’t there because there wasn’t enough support for it across the country… ‘That’ll be someone else’s problem’ is, unfortunately, the easiest way to respond to this,” he said.
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“The problem is the fact that we pushed off this problem for decades already means it gets more and more expensive to make the changes that are necessary, not just to protect communities’ quality of life, but also to protect our environmental opportunities and growth that we have.”
Poilievre has signalled that the political battle on the carbon tax is far from over.
He said in a statement that he would be forcing “multiple votes in Parliament” when the House of Commons resumes next week. In reality, Conservatives will be holding their two opposition day motions — which allows them to force debate and a vote on subjects of their liking — on the carbon tax.
“If Trudeau insists on hiking the tax on food, heating and gas, then it’s time for Liberal and NDP MPs to stand up to Justin Trudeau to bring home lower prices. The ability of Canadians to put food on the table and fuel in their cars is more important than protecting Justin Trudeau’s fading political career,” he said.
National Post
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