(Ottawa) The carbon pricing system remains solid and reliable, despite the exemption granted to fuel oil deliveries, maintains the Minister of the Environment, Steven Guilbeault, in an interview at The Press. He reiterates that the government will not accept any further breach as long as he is in office.
“I say it and I repeat it, this is not an ideal situation,” he admits. You cannot create or give the impression that the carbon pricing system is negotiable because it is a very, very powerful tool. »
A tool that has made it possible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by a third, he says. The goal of this tax is to encourage people and businesses to switch to cleaner energy sources to avoid paying it. It does not apply to Quebec, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories which have their own carbon pricing systems.
But the cost of living crisis overcame the application of the federal tax to oil heating, a fuel whose price has skyrocketed over the past year. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced two weeks ago his temporary suspension of fuel oil delivery until the end of 2026-2027. A policy that favors residents of the four Atlantic provinces where nearly a third of the population uses this form of heating in winter.
“This pause is a pause on 1% of emissions in Canada, so the Canadian carbon pricing system is still very solid and still applies to the vast majority of industry and our economy,” argues Mr. Guilbeault.
The government has also increased the subsidy for replacing this fuel with a heat pump by 50% and is offering $250 to low-income people to encourage them to buy one. The objective is to accelerate the deployment of a less polluting form of heating to “accelerate the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions”.
“We are going to move even faster to get rid of heating oil everywhere in the country,” he emphasizes.
The Commissioner for the Environment and Sustainable Development indicated earlier this week that he intended to analyze the impact of this breach of the carbon tax on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in his next report. He also wants to know whether this about-face has damaged private sector confidence in carbon pricing.
Nothing has changed for large businesses, recalls Minister Guilbeault. “I think the system is still there, companies can still trust it. » He gives the example of the Canada Growth Fund and its $15 billion to invest in private sector projects that aim to reduce emissions. The first agreement was signed with the Alberta company Eavor Technologies which developed closed circuit geothermal technology.
“So, not only is the price still there, but we are starting to sign agreements to guarantee after 2030,” he adds.
Will he resign if the government makes another dent in carbon pricing? “What I said is what the Prime Minister said, that there would be no further breaches so I would not need to do what you say,” replies he.
However, the government could be forced to reluctantly accept a new one. Conservative Bill C-234, currently under third reading in the Senate, proposes to include natural gas and propane in the exemption that already applies to fuels used for drying grain in the environment. agricultural.
Minister Guilbeault voted against during the last vote on third reading in the House of Commons.