Kinew forecasts hot talk at premiers summit

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/11/2023 (706 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

They are not on the Council of the Federation agenda, but Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew expects the federal carbon tax and issues of affordability and energy will be hot topics in Halifax.

“The agenda at COF has infrastructure and health care listed, and those topics are very important, but I think everyone sees what’s happening with the political conversation in Canada right now,” Kinew said in an interview Friday.

“I’m sure that’s going to mean talking about affordability and talking about energy.”

The new Manitoba first minister will attend his first premiers summit Sunday and Monday in Nova Scotia.

The meeting is being hosted by council chairman Premier Tim Houston, in a province where many residents stand to benefit from a carbon tax exemption on home heating oil announced by the Liberal government late last month.

Houston’s Saskatchewan and Alberta counterparts have since demanded an exemption on natural gas the majority of western residents use to heat their homes, saying it’s only fair at a time when all Canadians face rising costs.

Kinew, who has said he wants to work with the federal government on a program to fund energy-saving heat pumps for Manitoba homes rather than joining conservative calls to “axe the tax,” may be pulled in both directions at the conference, one political expert said Friday.

“Because of the location of the meeting, it’s almost certain that Scott Moe (Saskatchewan) and Danielle Smith (Alberta) will use this platform as an opportunity to put additional pressure on (Prime Minister Justin) Trudeau and the Liberals for them to reconsider their position,” said University of Winnipeg political science Prof. Félix Mathieu.

“In turn, this will put big pressure on Wab Kinew,” said Mathieu, who is organizing a conference on COF at the University of Quebec (Montreal) next month to mark the institution’s 20th anniversary.

“On the one hand, he will be tempted to partner with Saskatchewan and Alberta and to strengthen his relationship with the other leaders in the region, with regards to an issue that is directly impacting the population in Manitoba,” the professor said.

“On the other hand, he needs to develop a positive and strong relationship with Ottawa, as Manitoba will likely be asking for the federal government’s financial participation to move forward with their action plan related to reconciliation and health care.”

Meantime, federal New Democrats are calling on Ottawa to axe the carbon tax on natural gas. The NDP says it will support a motion by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to lift the carbon tax on home heating for the next three years.

“For us in the NDP, this is a matter of fairness and affordability,” MP Niki Ashton (Churchill—Keewatinook Aski) said Friday.

“We know that that life is becoming more and more difficult for Canadians across the country,” she said in a phone interview. “It’s a cynical move from the Liberals to remove the carbon tax and take steps on affordability in one part of the country and not the rest.”

When asked about the carbon tax on home heating fuel and growing calls for an exemption on natural gas, Manitoba’s top Liberal MP was travelling and not available for an interview Friday.

The office of St. Boniface—St. Vital MP and Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal issued a statement instead.

“Thousands of Manitobans have benefited from federal programs and assistance, including $10-a-day childcare, a $500 top-up for low-income renters, indexing the Canada Child Benefit to inflation, and giving hundreds of dollars to help families cover their grocery bill,” the message reads.

“We know there is still more to do to help Canadians. In our fight against climate change, we’re making record investments to build on Manitoba’s green advantage, grow an economy that leaves no one behind and create future jobs that our children and grandchildren will be able to depend on.”

More investment is needed, however, Manitoba’s premier said.

“I think there are huge infrastructure needs across the spectrum here in Manitoba,” Kinew said Friday. “We’ve got to stand up more housing, we’ve got to fix the situation with the highways and we also have infrastructure needs in health care, like the emergency room that we committed to (building) in south Winnipeg.

“These are all things that we want to get done, but I think the important priority for us is if the province is going to be paying for a significant part of these projects, we want to make sure that our priorities are reflected in the ways these projects are chosen,” Kinew said.

“We want to be able to work with the federal government.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca