Prime Minister Justin Trudeau points out that Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre’s promises to remove carbon pricing come as the country grapples with wildfires and other natural disasters. He says Mr Poilievre would “watch the country burn” rather than continue the fight against the climate crisis.
Mr. Trudeau points out that when Mr. Poilievre talks about removing carbon pricing, it would also mean the end of the checks that most families receive.
He recalls that the Parliamentary Budget Officer confirmed that 80% of families receive more through the Canadian carbon rebate program than the extra they pay for gasoline and home heating due to carbon pricing.
His remarks come after Mr. Poilievre called for a “vacation” from carbon pricing between the Victoria Day and Labor Day long weekend.
Mr. Poilievre told a news conference at a gas station in Vancouver that his “vacation” proposal would reduce the price of gasoline by 35.6 cents per liter on average.
But Mr. Trudeau says his Liberal government designed the carbon pricing program to ensure pollution isn’t costless, while putting more money back into the hands of Canadians.
“Eight out of ten families in regions where carbon pricing applies are better off with the Canada carbon rebate checks they receive four times a year than it costs them extra to a full tank of gasoline or to heat their home,” he stressed.
Mr. Trudeau said Mr. Poilievre would remove carbon pricing and these controls at a time when Canadians are grappling with the rising cost of living and wildfires, floods and other extreme events affect people across the country.
“His ideology is so strong that he would watch the country burn and Canadians suffer rather than continue to fight climate change and put Canada’s carbon rebate in their pockets,” the prime minister said of the leader of the opposition.
Remove tax
Mr. Poilievre said his goal was to “remove the tax” and greenlight major natural resource projects to bring production back to what is “the most environmentally friendly country in the world.”
“We will liquefy the gas and send it to Asia to close the coal-fired power plants there,” he promised.
Mr. Poilievre was also asked Thursday about the use of the phrase “climate criminals” to describe people who work in extractive industries or drive large trucks.
He responded by saying that people who make such “inflammatory comments” are trying to intimidate taxpayers. “We see this kind of really radical, extreme, outlandish language from the Trudeau Liberals when they attack people who drive cars and say they want to ban the roads,” Mr. Poilievre said.
“Meanwhile, Trudeau and the NDP have no problem importing more products made by coal-burning dictatorships like China, which is responsible for the largest emissions of any country on planet Earth. »
Mr. Poilievre asserts that the Liberal government, with the support of the New Democrats, has begun to “multiply punitive carbon taxes”, while “the vast majority of Canadians are struggling to feed themselves, heat themselves and housing “.
“Canadians are struggling and can’t even afford a vacation. They need a break. »