Province working on carbon levy, won’t commit to public input
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/08/2022 (1165 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
OTTAWA — Manitoba Environment Minister Jeff Wharton is keeping tight-lipped about the province’s proposal for its own carbon levy, and won’t say whether the PCs will consult the public.
“We’re currently in discussion with the feds and we’ll continue to be,” Wharton said Friday in response to questions from the Free Press.
“We need to ensure that Manitobans’ interests are front and centre, and that’s exactly what were going to continue to do.”
TIM SMITH / BRANDON SUN FILES
Manitoba had consulted widely in shaping its own levy that Brian Pallister launched in 2017 and then reneged on after Ottawa insisted it wasn’t stringent enough.
The Supreme Court in 2021 upheld the Trudeau government’s carbon tax, which invites provinces to craft their own plans based on their economic needs. If those plans aren’t likely to sufficiently reduce emissions, Ottawa can impose its own tax, which it has done in Manitoba.
The PC government plans to submit a proposal by the end of this year, ahead of an updated national framework.
Wharton wouldn’t say whether the two firms Manitoba contracted last year to help form a levy have reported back to the province, and wouldn’t share what the province wants different than the existing federal plan. Other provinces have taxed sectors differently, such as a cap-and-trade system for large emitters.
The NDP have been asking for public consultations, arguing the public should weigh in on how to balance reducing carbon emissions and keeping living costs affordable. Wharton would not say Friday whether the public will be invited to weigh in.
Manitoba had consulted widely in shaping its own levy that Pallister launched in 2017 and then reneged on after Ottawa insisted it wasn’t stringent enough.
Separately, Manitoba among a handful of provinces that unsuccessfully asked Ottawa to delay its annual increase to the carbon levy in March, citing inflation. “We’re currently at the table with the feds; we’re not discussing anything outside of” that proposal, Wharton said.
The current levy adds 11.1 cents to each litre of gasoline and 9.8 cents per cubic metre of natural gas; the revenue is remitted in full to Manitoba.
— With files from Tyler Searle
dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca