(Halifax) Nova Scotia is asking the federal government to be exempt from the carbon tax.
Posted at 5:05 p.m.
Provincial Premier Tim Houston made the announcement Friday during a press conference. He said Nova Scotia is exceeding national targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
According to him, the federal government’s approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions amounts to “punishing” the province.
The Progressive Conservative premier said imposing a carbon tax on Nova Scotians would unduly penalize them because the province’s current efforts to reduce emissions are already exceeding federal targets.
“I actually think a carbon tax is the right tool at the right time and in the right place,” Houston said. But in Nova Scotia, it’s not necessary. »
He says the province’s program “is better than the carbon tax” and does not financially punish Nova Scotians.
The tax will increase by $15 per ton each year to reach $170 per ton in 2030.
Houston said the tax could cost the average Nova Scotian household more than $2,000 in 2025 and more than $3,100 in 2030. He believes the province should move forward with its own plans “rather than be punished by an increase of 14 cents per liter in the price of gas. »
He also pointed out that Nova Scotians already pay some of the highest electricity bills in Canada.
The province submitted a climate change action plan to Ottawa on Thursday, which lists environmental goals enshrined in provincial legislation last year.
These goals include phasing out coal-fired electricity generation by 2030, committing to have 80% of the province’s energy supplied by renewable sources by 2030, and requiring zero-emission vehicles represent 30% of vehicle sales in the same year.
These objectives are the “most aggressive benchmarks in the country and will yield results,” said the Prime Minister.
Kelsey Lane, climate policy coordinator at the Halifax-based Ecology Action Centre, said she was shocked by Mr Houston’s plan to deal with climate change.
“We are surprised at the lack of substance in the prime minister’s proposal,” she said.
Mme Lane said she had hoped the province would introduce its own carbon pricing system, as she did not specify how it plans to meet its emissions reduction targets.
“There are no clear accountability mechanisms on how we are going to achieve this,” she said. We could have gone even further”.
Houston says he hopes Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault will review the plan “with an open mind.”
He said that if Nova Scotia does not meet its targets, he will accept the imposition of a carbon tax by the federal government.
New Democratic Party (NDP) environment critic Susan Leblanc said she was disappointed with the proposal.
“There’s nothing new, no new details – no real plans,” Ms.me Leblanc to reporters after the Prime Minister’s announcement.
Liberal Environment Critic Iain Rankin agrees, saying the Conservatives’ proposal does not amount to a plan to fight climate change.
“I wouldn’t want to give it credit by saying it’s even a plan,” said Iain Rankin, a former environment minister. I was hoping to see something I could critique, but it’s nothing more than a PowerPoint that goes over the goals that were in place. »
The province currently operates its own cap and trade program for large industrial emitters. The program has been in place since 2019, but will expire at the end of the year.
Revenues from the cap and trade system go to a provincial green fund that contributes to renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, such as rebates for solar home upgrades.
When asked what will happen when the green fund ends, Houston said the province is “committed to continuing to invest to achieve our goals.” He did not give details.
Susan Leblanc said she was concerned about Mr. Houston’s “extremely vague” response. According to her, the government must invest more in the programs financed by the green fund.