Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault on Thursday reversed a previous cabinet commitment by reneging on the promise to maintain the current cap on the carbon tax at $170 per tonne, which is equivalent to 40¢ per litre of gasoline.“It is a decision that hasn’t been made,” said Guilbeault.While testifying at the Commons Environment committee, Guilbeault went back on the promise he made in 2021 during questioning by Conservative MP Dan Mazier (Dauphin-Swan River, MB).According to Blacklock’s Reporter, the environment minister did not mention the original pledge of 40¢.“Can you promise Canadians your government will never raise the carbon tax higher than $170 a tonne?” asked Mazier. “We have made a determination until 2030,” replied Guilbeault. “We haven’t made any determination for what will happen after 2030.”“You once said you wouldn’t raise the carbon tax and then raised the carbon tax after an election, so now, after 2030, you will never go over $170 a tonne?” asked Mazier. “I respectfully disagree with the characterization of what we said,” replied Guilbeault.“We said the price on pollution would increase until 2022,” said Guilbeault. “Then we said we would make an assessment to determine whether or not it should continue. That’s exactly what we did.”“So you aren’t committing to not going over $170 a tonne and increasing costs to Canadians?” asked Mazier. “It is a decision that hasn’t been made,” replied Guilbeault.In 2018, Parliament passed the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, which set a cap on the carbon tax at $50 per tonne or 12¢ per litre of gasoline. At that time, the cabinet committed that this cap would not be raised.“The price will not go up,” then-Environment Minister Catherine McKenna told reporters on June 23, 2019. “The plan is not to increase the price post-2022. We are doing exactly what we said we’d do.”“There is no secret agenda,” McKenna said on August 26, 2019. “Any decision to move up would be in consultation with the provinces.”“Are you committing to not going over $50 per tonne?” asked a reporter. “That’s all we have,” replied McKenna.Following the 2019 election, the cabinet waited until Parliament adjourned for Christmas to raise the tax cap by 240% to $170 per tonne by 2030. The higher charge is the equivalent of 27¢ per litre of propane, 34¢ per cubic metre of natural gas, 40¢ more per litre of gasoline, 44¢ for aviation fuel and an extra 47¢ per litre for diesel.Two years ago, then-Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson promised that the new cap would not be raised.“No, we do not intend to accelerate the price on pollution,” Wilkinson told reporters on April 22, 2021. “There is a price schedule out there for the very specific reason of providing certainty and that’s what we have done.”In a 2021 report, the Parliamentary Budget Office stated that even a cap of 40¢ would be insufficient to effectively reduce emissions.According to the report Beyond Paris: Reducing Canada’s GHG Emissions By 2030, the cabinet would need to raise the cap to $261 per tonne or 62¢ per litre of gasoline to meet its climate targets.
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault on Thursday reversed a previous cabinet commitment by reneging on the promise to maintain the current cap on the carbon tax at $170 per tonne, which is equivalent to 40¢ per litre of gasoline.“It is a decision that hasn’t been made,” said Guilbeault.While testifying at the Commons Environment committee, Guilbeault went back on the promise he made in 2021 during questioning by Conservative MP Dan Mazier (Dauphin-Swan River, MB).According to Blacklock’s Reporter, the environment minister did not mention the original pledge of 40¢.“Can you promise Canadians your government will never raise the carbon tax higher than $170 a tonne?” asked Mazier. “We have made a determination until 2030,” replied Guilbeault. “We haven’t made any determination for what will happen after 2030.”“You once said you wouldn’t raise the carbon tax and then raised the carbon tax after an election, so now, after 2030, you will never go over $170 a tonne?” asked Mazier. “I respectfully disagree with the characterization of what we said,” replied Guilbeault.“We said the price on pollution would increase until 2022,” said Guilbeault. “Then we said we would make an assessment to determine whether or not it should continue. That’s exactly what we did.”“So you aren’t committing to not going over $170 a tonne and increasing costs to Canadians?” asked Mazier. “It is a decision that hasn’t been made,” replied Guilbeault.In 2018, Parliament passed the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, which set a cap on the carbon tax at $50 per tonne or 12¢ per litre of gasoline. At that time, the cabinet committed that this cap would not be raised.“The price will not go up,” then-Environment Minister Catherine McKenna told reporters on June 23, 2019. “The plan is not to increase the price post-2022. We are doing exactly what we said we’d do.”“There is no secret agenda,” McKenna said on August 26, 2019. “Any decision to move up would be in consultation with the provinces.”“Are you committing to not going over $50 per tonne?” asked a reporter. “That’s all we have,” replied McKenna.Following the 2019 election, the cabinet waited until Parliament adjourned for Christmas to raise the tax cap by 240% to $170 per tonne by 2030. The higher charge is the equivalent of 27¢ per litre of propane, 34¢ per cubic metre of natural gas, 40¢ more per litre of gasoline, 44¢ for aviation fuel and an extra 47¢ per litre for diesel.Two years ago, then-Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson promised that the new cap would not be raised.“No, we do not intend to accelerate the price on pollution,” Wilkinson told reporters on April 22, 2021. “There is a price schedule out there for the very specific reason of providing certainty and that’s what we have done.”In a 2021 report, the Parliamentary Budget Office stated that even a cap of 40¢ would be insufficient to effectively reduce emissions.According to the report Beyond Paris: Reducing Canada’s GHG Emissions By 2030, the cabinet would need to raise the cap to $261 per tonne or 62¢ per litre of gasoline to meet its climate targets.
