(OTTAWA) As the House of Commons resumes on Monday, a Conservative riding association launched a petition against Leader Erin O’Toole’s promise to introduce “a carbon tax.”
Posted at 3:00 p.m.
The Rural County Association of Battlefords-Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, announced on Monday that it has launched a petition which will then be presented to the National Council of the Conservative Party.
This is the latest blow to Mr. O’Toole’s leadership: at least three other riding associations have called for the leader to submit to an early vote of confidence by mid-June, as the party’s statutes and bylaws provide for such a vote by members at the next national convention in 2023. In addition, some members of the Conservative caucus openly believe that Mr. O’Toole is not suitable for this position.
In a statement, the Battlefords-Lloydminster constituency chairman said Mr O’Toole broke a resolution passed by activists last March at the party’s policy convention. This resolution ruled out any federal carbon tax imposed on the provinces, or any cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gas emissions.
Michael Hudec believes his leader violated this policy last April when he announced that the party’s climate change plan included a carbon pricing system. This plan provided for the reimbursement of sums paid by consumers into a “personal savings account for carbon reduction”.
Mr O’Toole argued that his plan was not a “carbon tax”, because unlike the Liberal program, his proposal would not send money into government coffers per se.
Member of Parliament supports petition
Mr. Hudec is not convinced. “Make no mistake: it’s a carbon tax, but under another name. “O’Toole’s Carbon Tax” will make everything more expensive for everyone, and it’s the exact opposite of what our members democratically voted for at our most recent policy convention.” , he argues in his press release.
In a separate statement, MP for the riding, Rosemarie Falk, said she respects the decision of the riding association’s board of directors.
“The Conservative Party of Canada is a political party of activists, accountable and answerable to its members,” said Mr.me Falk in a statement. As MP for Battlefords-Lloydminster, my position has always been that a carbon tax is ineffective and unfairly punishes the rural communities I represent. »
In a statement on Monday afternoon, party chairman Rob Batherson said the National Council had the power to determine whether a petition was valid, and that it would be considered at a future meeting.
Good financial health
Despite the turmoil over Mr. O’Toole’s leadership and September’s election defeat, a memo obtained by The Canadian Press, which was recently presented to the National Council by Mr. Batherson, says 2021 has been a banner year. for federal Conservatives on political financing.
According to this document, the party raised nearly 27 million in 2021, which would make it the third best year on record for fundraising. The Conservatives would have collected in the quarter ended in December, after the elections, nearly 3.1 million, according to this note.
Batherson also argues in his memo that the party is ready for an upcoming election, having already repaid its campaign loan. He also maintains that in 2021, the party attracted nearly 20,000 new donors.
“This is the first time we’ve done this in the party’s history,” the memo said. Being ready for an election just four months after the previous one is unheard of in Canadian politics — and we did. »