(Ottawa) The leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) had to defend his party’s support on Monday for the Conservatives’ motion to extend the suspension of the carbon tax to all forms of residential heating. Jagmeet Singh made it a vote of rejection against the exemption from the tax applied to fuel oil which favors the Atlantic provinces.
“It’s a vote against the Liberals’ proposal that divides,” Mr. Singh insisted. We do not support the approach of the Conservatives who do not have a plan to deal with the climate crisis. »
The Conservative motion must be put to a vote on Monday afternoon. The Bloc Québécois has not yet indicated whether it will vote for or against. It follows the three-year suspension of the carbon tax on fuel oil granted by the Liberals a little over a week ago.
Conservatives and New Democrats accuse the government of dividing Canadians by providing an exemption from the carbon tax that favors residents of the four Atlantic provinces, where nearly a third of the population heats with oil in winter .
Saskatchewan is demanding that such an exemption also be applied to natural gas heating, otherwise it will stop collecting the tax.
The New Democrats have made the fight against climate change one of their main priorities. Mr. Singh refused to support a motion that would further weaken the carbon tax, the objective of which is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
He promises to present his own plan on Tuesday to give respite to households struggling with the rising cost of living and to fight climate change. New Democrats are proposing to eliminate the goods and services sales tax (GST) on home heating across the country. They also want to tax the profits of big oil companies and use these revenues to help people buy a heat pump that is less polluting than oil heating.