Carbon tax | Ministers defend the government’s decline

(Ottawa) The rollback on the carbon tax was not necessarily ideal, but it was important to do so, according to Minister Marc Miller. Several ministers defended the temporary suspension of the tax on fuel oil deliveries this winter, which affects residents of the Atlantic provinces more.

“I’m not saying the decision-making was ideal, but I think it was important,” admitted the Immigration Minister upon arriving for Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting. “It’s clear that the fight against climate change is the challenge of our generation if we really want to preserve everything we have. »

Minister Diane Lebouthillier defended the government’s decision. “You know, a plan must be flexible and flexible,” said the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard. We must adapt, but our objective always remains the same, it is [de diminuer] greenhouse-effect gas. »

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday the temporary suspension of the carbon tax for the delivery of fuel oil this winter and the 50% increase in the subsidy to replace this fuel with a heat pump. The government will also offer $250 to low-income people to encourage them to purchase a heat pump.

These policies apply to the entire country, but will benefit more residents of the Atlantic provinces where nearly 30% of households heat with oil. It is 8% in the rest of the country, according to the information document provided by the Ministry of Finance.

These double standards shocked the Western Canadian provinces, particularly in Alberta and Saskatchewan where the governments are already opposed to the carbon tax. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe is threatening to no longer collect the carbon tax on natural gas if a similar exemption is not granted for this fuel.

The fact that the Minister of Rural Economic Development, Gudie Hutchings, who is from Newfoundland and Labrador, said in an interview with CTV on Sunday that the Prairies “should elect more Liberals” fueled these tensions.

“We’re going to have good discussions,” said Northern Affairs Minister Daniel Vandal of Manitoba, before rushing into the meeting room when a journalist asked him if Manitobans should also benefit from a similar exemption.

The Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages, Randy Boissonnault, of Alberta, recalled that the government will also double the supplement for rural communities from 10% to 20% as of April 2024. This supplement is paid to taxpayers in provinces which, unlike Quebec, do not have their own carbon pricing system.

“Albertans, Saskatchewanians and Manitobans in rural areas will now receive $2,000 per year,” he said. And what we do is we have a national approach that takes regional realities into consideration. »

In addition to harming the fight against climate change, the Trudeau government is dividing Canadians, denounced the leader of the New Democratic Party, Jagmeet Singh, at a press briefing on Tuesday. He believes the government should have lifted the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on domestic heating, which would have helped everyone cope with the rising cost of living.