Trudeau, Guilbeault blast Maritime premiers for wanting ‘pause on pollution’

The prime minister and his environment minister on Friday did their best WWE impersonation by taking on the premiers of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia for wanting a “pause on pollution” by freezing the carbon tax effective April 1.Speaking in Montreal, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey of “continuing to bow to political pressure” for asking him to stop the looming carbon tax increase."I think Mr. Furey is continuing to bow to political pressure," Trudeau said in response to a question about the premier's letter asking for the halt at in Montreal Friday morning. "I think Canadians in Newfoundland and Labrador and right across the country expect their governments to do the right thing.".Meanwhile, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault criticized Nova Scotia for urging Ottawa to “put a pause on pollution” after it called in the army last summer to fight fires. “If there's a region in this country that has seen impacts of climate changes, it's Nova Scotia after the worst forest fires in the history of the province last year, where's floodings? We're seeing storm and storm surges like we've never seen before, in this province and across the country.”The federal carbon tax is scheduled to rise from $65 per tonne to $80 on April 1, which will add about three cents to price of a litre of gasoline, to which Guilbeault responded: “The reality is that we have no control over the price of the price of gasoline.“Both said eight in 10 Canadians benefit from carbon tax rebates and each accused Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre of wanting to steal them.“So what they want us to do is they want us to get rid of the most effective measure to fight climate change and they want to take money away from people at a time of affordability,” Guilbeault said. Trudeau went as far as to call it “basic math.”."Premier Furey strongly believes in the importance of mitigating climate change, but urges the federal government to pause its increase to the carbon tax at this time."Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey.Trudeau's remarks come after Furey on Tuesday shared an open letter calling for the planned carbon tax increase on April 1 to be delayed. Furey is the only remaining Liberal provincial premier.In a statement to CBC on Friday, Furey's office said Newfoundlanders lack some of the options available to people in other parts of the country to reduce their carbon tax burden, adding to affordability woes."Premier Furey has always been clear that the federal carbon tax is not the appropriate instrument to mitigate climate change at this time and that he will continue to fight for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians," the statement said."Premier Furey strongly believes in the importance of mitigating climate change, but urges the federal government to pause its increase to the carbon tax at this time.".Premiers in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Ontario and Nova Scotia have all called for Trudeau to pause or cancel the coming carbon tax increase.Saskatchewan has gone one step further by refusing to remit the carbon tax on natural gas to protest the carve out exemption that Ottawa granted for home heating oil in Atlantic provinces.All provinces and territories collect the federal tax with the exception of BC and Quebec which have their own systems.On Friday Poilievre penned a letter to BC Premier David Eby to not implement the April 1 tax hike, noting that British Columbians already pay the highest fuel prices in the country even as 200,000 people used food banks last year.“It makes no difference to the hard-working people of British Columbia who administers thee tax,” he tweeted. “As people across our country are struggling, the last thing they need is another tax increase.

Trudeau, Guilbeault blast Maritime premiers for wanting ‘pause on pollution’

Related Stories