Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says the Tories are lying about a secret government plan to add a green tax on pickup trucks.
There have been several tweets from Conservative MPs, the Conservative Party and Alberta Premier Jason Kenney in recent days insisting the government is set to extend a federal green levy to pickup trucks.
“This so-called truck levy does not exist,” Mr. Guilbeault argued on Wednesday, in a message on Twitter responding to Conservative MP and leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre.
“It’s instilling fear, pure and simple. »
Mr Poilievre said in his tweet that the government will impose thousands of dollars in new taxes “on anyone who buys a truck”. He encouraged his supporters to join his campaign to “eliminate the truck tax”.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney followed suit on Thursday, writing that “the Liberal-NDP coalition is planning a punitive tax on workers for buying pickup trucks.”
The federal Conservative Party as a whole ramped up posts on Twitter Thursday and Friday, asking if Canadians could “pay a $4,000 tax on (their) truck or SUV? “.
The green levy in question already affects sport utility vehicles (SUVs). In 2007, the Conservative government led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper introduced this measure for vehicles with high fuel consumption as part of a number of offers aimed at “ensuring a cleaner and healthier environment” .
A rebate for more fuel-efficient vehicles introduced at the same time only lasted two years, but the green levy is still in effect.
It adds between $1,000 and $4,000 to cars, SUVs and vans with above-average fuel consumption when purchased or imported into Canada. There are currently 60 models labeled for picking.
The vast majority are high-end luxury cars from brands like Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Lamborghini, all of which have starting prices over $200,000, or big SUVs like the Dodge Durango and Toyota Sequoia.
In their 2007 budget, the Conservatives predicted that the tax would raise $215 million in the first two years, but it falls far short of that figure, with average revenue around $15 million a year. Over 14 years, total revenues from the green levy are $220 million, including less than $4 million in 2020-2021.
It didn’t apply to pickup trucks in 2007, and hasn’t in the 15 years it’s been around.
Guilbeault said the Liberals are not proposing to extend it to trucks despite accusations from the Conservatives.
“This kind of politics divides and distracts from the important work we all need to do to fight climate change,” he said.
A recommendation from an organization
The charge stems from a recommendation made to the environment minister last month by the Net Zero advisory body set up to help guide government policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The call to extend the green levy to pickup trucks is one of 40 recommendations in his brief on the government’s new emissions reduction plan.
Dan Wicklum, co-chair of the advisory group and CEO of The Transition Accelerator, said in an interview that the advisory is part of a series of measures to encourage all levels of government, the private sector and Canadians to mobilize and assume their responsibilities to contribute to the fight against climate change.
He claimed that vans as personal vehicles are not very fuel efficient, but the body was also aware in its recommendations that any new levy had to consider the impact it would have on vulnerable populations.
“We felt it was fairly balanced advice and actually we’re a bit disappointed when people twist it,” he said.
Wicklum said there was no obligation for the government to follow these recommendations, nor should there be.
“Our role is to give advice, but it’s up to the government to decide whether to follow it or not,” he said. And that’s how it should be in a democracy. »
The Liberals are extending a rebate program to reduce the cost of buying new zero-emission vehicles for another three years. They will increase the maximum allowable price to ensure that new electric SUVs and pickups that come to market can get the discount.
All vehicle owners, including van drivers, pay the carbon price on fuel purchased for their vehicles. Pickup trucks, which typically use more gas per mile traveled, will typically cost more in carbon tax.