HALIFAX: Provincial and federal officials are in stark disagreement over the federal government’s implementation of a carbon tax.
On Nov. 22 the Government of Canada announced what it called “A Fair and Affordable Pollution Pricing System.”
In a press release, the federal government said putting a price on pollution is the most effective way to fight climate change and puts money into the pockets of Canadians who receive Climate Action Incentive (CAI) payments.
Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, announced that a higher price on pollution will start on April 1, 2023 and homeowners in Nova Scotia will start receiving payments on July 1, 2023.
The federal government said residents in small and rural communities who receive federal CAI payments receive a 10 per cent supplement on their payments, to reflect limited access to clean transportation options.
Last week, the Government of Canada also announced a new $250 million investment for the Oil to Heat Pump Affordability (OHPA) Grant to help households move to electric heat pumps.
“To continue providing immediate relief, our federal government is reducing Canadians’ heating bills by helping homeowners cover up-front costs in federal grants up to $5,000 to replace their oil heating systems with brand new heat pumps,” Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship said in a press release. “By transitioning away from oil heating, homeowners can save thousands of dollars in their annual heating bills, putting more money back in peoples’ pockets while also reducing pollution and creating new jobs across the country.”
Nova Scotia will continue to implement its own pollution pricing systems for industrial emissions, the federal government confirmed.
According to the federal government, provinces had until September to request the federal carbon pollution pricing system, or put make their own proposals.
Finance Minister Allan MacMaster said in an interview on “Telile Today” back in September that the federal plan will “raise the cost of everything.”
“There is the immediate cost when you go to fill your car or truck up at the gas pump,” he said. “You’re going to be paying 14 cents more per litre. But then, we know all too well, the last few months, when the price of fuel goes up, so does the price of everything else.”
The Inverness MLA this price increase extends to home heating oil.
“The amounts are different based on the carbon intensity of the fuel,” he said. “For home heating oil, it would be amount comparable, maybe even a bit higher than 14 cents per litre. And it’s going to affect anyone who’s using fossil fuels. There’s a lot of people, 40 per cent of Nova Scotians, heat with home heating oil.”
MacMaster pointed to the increase in power bills more than a decade ago, which he attributed to the addition of wind energy to the power grid. He said the previous Liberal government had a deal with the federal government.
“But the end of that agreement is coming at the end of December, and as soon as we go into January, the federal government wants a carbon tax in place,” he said. “And even though we submitted a plan to them that shows we’re going to continue to move away from fossil fuel-based power generation, and there’ll be a natural movement, I think over time, towards electric cars and away from fossil fuel-powered cars, that does not seem good enough for them.”
In response to claims that the province dragged its feet on presenting a final plan to the federal government, MacMaster said he started working on this before Russia invaded Ukraine last winter.
“I know there’s been a lot of communication between the federal government and the provincial government through our departments of environment. While the plan may have been submitted, what some people might refer to as last minute, I want to also say it was submitted before the deadline,” he noted. “And there was communication all the way through, I know that for a fact. This is something, I would probably say, easily one of the top three issues I’ve worked on since I’ve been appointed as minister of this government.”
Although he couldn’t get into specifics, MacMaster said the provincial government is looking at every scenario.
“Really this carbon tax, it’s actually going to hurt people who are the least able to make changes in how they live,” he said. “Most people in this province don’t have access to public transit; they have to drive to work so you got to drive to work, half of us are heating their homes with furnace oil right now. Many people just can’t turn on a dime and change that.”
In a Facebook post on Sept. 15, MacMaster said the Department of Finance and Treasury Board has more than 20 years of data showing that people do not stop driving when fuel prices rise abruptly. There will be fewer drives taken, but most people still need to get where they are going, he wrote.
“Choice is what Nova Scotians need,” he wrote. “They need choices to move away from fossil fuels. A new federal carbon tax does not change that.”
As for those choices, MacMaster said the province wants to work with the federal government to create offshore wind regulations to build onshore capacity and create an international market for green hydrogen. He said they want support from Fisheries and Oceans Canada to advance tidal power in the Bay of Fundy by helping create a clear, sustainable regulatory path. And, the province wants power utility infrastructure to move away from fossil fuels, he said, noting that these kinds of investments can be paid off over time over the life of the assets.
“These things we want do not require you to have to pay a new tax, MacMaster wrote.
When asked about MacMaster’s comments that Ottawa didn’t allow the province to lower the gas tax, Sean Fraser advised The Reporter that it was factually incorrect.
“There are three provinces so far that are in a similar situation that have chosen to lower their provincial fuel tax; (Andrew Furey) in Newfoundland and Labrador, Doug Ford in Ontario and Jason Kenney in Alberta have all done that,” Fraser said in an interview on Nov. 25. “Provinces that are seeking to reduce their fuel tax for affordability purposes, are free to do so, that’s within provincial jurisdiction; there is one nuance where the expressed intent cannot be to the impact of federal prince on pollution.”
The federal immigration minister suggested he thinks a lot of people forget the province does, in fact, have a tax on fuel and they’re free to reduce it as they see fit.
“If they wanted to reduce it, they would be free to use the proceeds from that to support people for affordability purposes as well,” Fraser said. “Minister MacMaster indicated yesterday, he will not be choosing to do that.”
Speaking on the reference MacMaster made regarding health and social transfer payments, in relation to cutting the provincial gas tax, the MP said he doesn’t agree with that tactic.
“I think that is an inappropriate attempt to prey on people’s fears during a very vulnerable time,” Fraser said. “No one has suggested the federal government is going to cut health transfers to Nova Scotia. It’s disingenuous and frankly inappropriate to make such a suggestion in the absence of any evidence.”
Fraser said he’ll leave MacMaster’s comments to the public to judge, but notes the province’s reasoning they’re not able to reduce the gas tax as a result of federal rules, is not true.
“To suggest he’s not able to as a result of federal decision-making powers is not an accurate depiction of the facts.”
For his part, Cape Breton-Canso MP Mike Kelloway said his government has been working with the province, and he looks forward to continuing to work with his provincial colleagues.
“I think the federal plan is one that is going to result in approximately $248 per quarter going out to most families, in particularly families of four or three,” he told The Reporter. “This money is going directly to Nova Scotians and people of Cape Breton-Canso which I think is the most important thing.”
While working toward common goals, Kelloway said top priorities should include a focus on the price of pollution, providing people avenues to change their heat source, and making life more affordable.
“What I would like to see is less rhetoric and more solutions working together,” he said. “Every Nova Scotia MP, every Nova Scotia MLA, every councillor, every First Nations chief, every warden, anyone that I’ve talked to has said the same thing, ‘we know that we need to do something about climate change.’”
In a statement issued on Nov. 22, Premier Tim Houston expressed “profound disappointment” in the decision to impose a carbon tax on Nova Scotians when fuel and heating costs are at an all-time high and many Nova Scotians are struggling.
While Nova Scotia supports action on climate change, Houston said his government doesn’t support a carbon tax at this time.
“It’s incomprehensible to me that the federal government doesn’t agree,” he said in the statement. “The federal government’s failure to understand this shows they’re simply out of touch. Fuel rebates are welcome, but they won’t ease the pressure Nova Scotians are feeling now at the pump.”
The premier said getting Nova Scotians off fossil fuels is a goal he shares with the federal government.
“But it will take years to make this change,” he stated. “It won’t help Nova Scotians struggling today.”
Noting that the province “fought this carbon tax to the end,” including reaching out to Guilbault, Houston implored the federal government to reverse their decision.
In the meantime, Houston said his government is working to expand the Heating Assistance Rebate Program, and is looking at long-term solutions to increase energy efficiency.
“They could have chosen our legislated plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which would have achieved and exceeded their GHG emissions goals,” he wrote. “They could have paused the program and worked with premiers across the country to find ways to support people and reduce emissions that did not include a punitive carbon tax.”
Nova Scotia’s NDP said Houston “lost his political game of chicken.” Noting he had months to work with the federal government to find a deal, instead the premier used the issue of climate change as a way to score political points and protect big polluters, they noted.
“Climate change is real and its impacts are already being felt here at home and around the world. This issue is so important that we should all be working together to find the best solutions possible for our children, grandchildren, and the planet,” said NDP Leader Claudia Chender. “Making this a political wedge issue and using it to fundraise is not what families were asking for. Putting a price on carbon is a reality, what people need is a government who will work across political parties and levels of government to find a way to protect the environment and make life affordable for families.”
The Houston government used carbon pricing to pit people against each other, and as reported, the NDP claims government members are using the issue to fundraise for the next political campaign.
“There are any number of ways Tim Houston could help Nova Scotians with the rising cost of oil and gas, from using tax windfall funds to directly help families to ensuring more people are able to make their homes more efficient,” said NDP Natural Resources and Renewables spokesperson Susan Leblanc. “Instead, he picked a fight with Ottawa and left everyday families to pay the price.”