Achi news desk-
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the Conservative premier across the country is “not telling the truth” when it comes to the carbon tax.
Doubling down on a letter written the day before, the prime minister accused his opponents of pollution pricing of “misleading Canadians,” for not recognizing that the big April 1 price increase coincides with an increase to the rebate quarterly federal that households receive.
“For ideological reasons, or purely partisan reasons, conservative politicians across this country are not telling Canadians the truth. And that’s why I called them out,” Trudeau said during a press conference on Wednesday in Vancouver.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, and the Canadian premier who opposed the marquee Liberal policy, accused him of trying to take money out of people’s pockets, in direct contrast to their argument that the carbon tax increases costs across sectors.
Tensions have been high on Parliament Hill amid growing Conservative-led opposition to the carbon tax, ahead of the incoming hike which will see the carbon price rise from $65 a tonne to $80 a metric tonne .
Trudeau’s comments came hours after he joined the many political leaders writing open letters about the carbon tax, and as new sparks flew in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
There, Liberal MPs were furious about the Conservatives unilaterally inviting top officials who opposed the carbon tax to come and testify.
Sparks flying over the premiers testify
Wednesday’s hearing was triggered by prime ministers New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan a Alberta issued letters asking to appear urgently before the Liberal-led House Finance Committee to voice their concerns about the upcoming increase.
With their request being left unaddressed — MPs are not sitting this week and most committees do not have scheduled meetings — Conservative MP and chair of the Government Operations and Estimates Committee, Kelly McCauley, decided to invite them instead of that.
But before the first premier on the dock — Scott Moe from Saskatchewan — began his evidence, several points of order were raised by Liberal MPs.
“You called the meeting unilaterally without direction or consultation with the members of this committee… this is a stunt and political theatre, just part and parcel of where our Conservative colleagues are taking this, to get clips,” said the Liberal MP Irek Kusmierczyk.
Liberal MP Francis Drouin warned that setting this precedent would not be one the Conservatives would be happy about in the end, when Liberal committee chairs start calling witnesses at their sole discretion.
Defending the move as “completely within” his powers, McCauley made the case that because MPs were studying the government’s spending plans, it was relevant to hear what top officials had to say.
“There are many examples of other chairmen doing such things. I think it is the chairperson’s privilege and obligation to call meetings,” he said. “And I did so.”
Not a ‘climate laggard’: Moe, PBO testify
Twenty-five minutes into the hearing, Moe was given the floor.
“I appreciate the very warm welcome from Canada,” he said.
“I wore my red tee in the spirit of cooperation,” Moe continued, launching into his arguments about why he believes the federal price on pollution makes life more unaffordable and why he doesn’t consider Saskatchewan to be “ climate laggard.”
Facing questions from Liberal, NDP and Bloc Quebecois MPs related to carbon pricing, the premier said that while he believes in climate change and the need to reduce emissions, instead of forcing polluters to pay more, that they should emit less in order to replace higher levels. emitting competitors.
“That’s how we build a strong Canadian economy. That’s how we lower global emissions. And that’s how we employ Canadians in your community, and in mine,” said Moe.
Testifying afterwards, Canada’s Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) faced a series of questions about his analysis of the economic impact of the carbon tax which has been much quoted in the past and recently, but which is interpreted in contradiction to each other.
“You’ve been in the press almost as much as Miss Taylor Swift, I think, in recent days,” said Conservative MP Philip Lawrence. Noting that he was seeking clarity, he asked: “For the average family where the backstop applies, is more money coming into Canadian pockets, or leaving their pockets?”
“If you look at the financial impact – that is the amount of carbon tax paid directly, indirectly and the GST that applies to these internal or direct carbon taxes paid without the carbon refund – the most families are better off,” began PBO Yves Giroux .
However, he continued, once the economic effects of the carbon tax on certain sectors of the economy such as oil and gas and transport are included, “we see that most Canadian families will be in provinces where the federal contingency in place sees. the small negative effect of the carbon tax.”
Liberal MPs were quick to question why Giroux did not factor the cost of climate change into his calculations, and the PBO said it was outside the scope of its mandate, suggesting MPs were looking at external think tanks for that kind of cost benefit analysis. .
From there, the hearing devolved into lengthy procedural battles over holding a second hearing with additional witnesses on Thursday. On the docket for that meeting are New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.
Trudeau to premiers: offering an alternative
In Trudeau’s letter late Tuesday responding to Canadian prime ministers, he implored them to come up with a better climate action plan.
In a two page message Posted on social media, Trudeau defended the carbon pricing program and the coincident rebate program as intentionally designed to be revenue neutral and beneficial to the majority of Canadian households, while stimulate climate action.
“Putting a price on pollution is the foundation of any serious plan to combat climate change. It is the most efficient way to reduce emissions across the economy,” Trudeau wrote. “Carbon pricing alone will account for a third of our emissions reductions by 2030.”
Noting that the federal plan is a back-up for states that failed to implement an adequate system of their own, Trudeau said the federal government remains open to withdrawing its plan from states where it is opposed, as soon as possible. as they will offer “credible systems. “
The federal price is currently set in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
In fact since 2019, the pollution pricing regime places a levy on greenhouse gas emissions, making it more expensive to burn fossil fuels in an effort to encourage Canadians to change their habits.
The prime minister said it was “obviously false” that the carbon tax was a significant driver of inflation, pointing back to a Bank of Canada calculation that was also cited by a series of economists in an open letter published on Tuesday seeking to counter the arguments of the opposition led by the Conservatives against the policy.
