(Ottawa) Justin Trudeau “doesn’t quite understand” what he perceives as a step backwards from the NDP on carbon pricing. For his part, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre accuses NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh of being a “weak leader who is desperate to run away from his own record” – and challenges him to dump the Liberals.
“I have a little sympathy for the NDP [Nouveau Parti démocratique] who finds themselves in a difficult political situation where there is a lot of pressure to withdraw their support for the fight against climate change,” the Prime Minister said on the sidelines of an announcement on housing in the Toronto region on Friday. .
But at the same time, “I don’t completely understand the NDP’s position,” since “this is not a moment to withdraw ambition for the future for the planet and support for families,” he said. he added. But it will be up to Jagmeet Singh “to explain why he is backing down on the urgency of the fight against climate change,” he added in English.
New Democrats have suggested in recent days that carbon pricing may not be the ideal solution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. They also supported a motion put forward by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre on Wednesday. She asks Justin Trudeau to urgently meet with his provincial and territorial counterparts to discuss it.
The NDP defends itself… and attacks the Liberals
PHOTO ADRIAN WYLD, THE CANADIAN PRESS
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh
In a statement sent to the media on Friday, the leader of the NDP assured that “the New Democrats have not changed their position on consumer carbon pricing.” He accuses the Liberals of having adopted an “approach of division and cynicism” in addition to having “pitted certain regions of the country against others”.
“The Liberals have proposed an exemption from carbon pricing for regions where they need to save their seats,” said Jagmeet Singh. The one whose party has ensured the survival of the Trudeau government for more than two years is referring to the temporary exemption for residential oil heating, which mainly benefits the Atlantic provinces, where the Liberals have several seats.
Conservatives are rubbing their hands
The Conservative Party was not going to miss the opportunity to attack the Liberals’ dancing partners.
“After the NDP voted 22 times in favor of creating and increasing the carbon tax, Jagmeet Singh is desperately trying to run away from his own record, saying that environmental policy “cannot be done by leaving the families of workers bear the cost of climate change,” the group criticized in a press release.
“It is clear that Jagmeet Singh is a weak leader desperate to run from his own record,” and if he “no longer supports Justin Trudeau’s carbon tax, he should stop supporting this tired Liberal government and join the Conservatives common sense to ask for an election on the carbon tax,” we add.
However, according to the words made by the Prime Minister in Vaughan, Ontario, carbon pricing – renamed the Canadian Carbon Rebate – is here to stay: “This is the path we have taken as a government and we will continue to do so despite the grumbling from conservatives and prime ministers across the country.”