Atlantic premiers Tim Houston (Nova Scotia), Blaine Higgs (New Brunswick), Andrew Furey (Newfoundland and Labrador) and Dennis King (Prince Edward Island) are all calling for the federal government to cancel or suspend the increase in the carbon tax planned for April 1. (Archive photo) Radio-Canada Voice synthesis, based on artificial intelligence, allows you to generate spoken text from written text. A few weeks before an increase in the carbon tax, the premiers of the four Atlantic provinces are asking the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, to cancel or suspend it. Seven provincial premiers, those of Atlantic, Saskatchewan, Alberta and Ontario, oppose federal carbon pricing and in particular the increase in $15 per ton scheduled for April 1. For example, in the case of gasoline, the increase will be 3.3 cents per liter. New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs released a statement on the matter this week on social media. His counterparts Tim Houston of Nova Scotia, Dennis King of Prince Edward Island and Andrew Furey of Newfoundland and Labrador made public the letters they recently sent to the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
In the case of gasoline, the increase in the carbon tax from April 1, 2024 will be 3.3¢ per liter.
Blaine Higgs says carbon tax hikes increase the cost of everyday products such as food, fuel and groceries, driving up the cost of living for everyone, and he asks Mr. Trudeau to cancel the new planned increase.
Tim Houston calls this increase unfair and ill-advised, for the same reasons, and he asks Mr. Trudeau to cancel the carbon tax.
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Dennis King asks Mr. Trudeau to reconsider this decision which, according to him, will increase the cost of living, and he offers to work with him to to find another mutually acceptable solution.
Andrew Furey, the only Liberal prime minister in the Atlantic, asks Ottawa to suspend the increase until inflation stabilizes.
This is not the first time that the four Atlantic prime ministers have united on issues of environmental pricing. Last summer, they asked Ottawa to delay the entry into force of the new clean fuel regulations (New window).
Furthermore, their speech resonates with the leader of the Conservative Party, Pierre Poilièvre, on tour this week in the Atlantic. In Gander, Newfoundland, the leader reiterated his message against the tax Wednesday, saying it unfairly affects families and workers.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilièvre was in Gander, Newfoundland and gave a speech to an enthusiastic crowd.
It pushes production out of the country and causes Canadians to go hungry, he declared in front of a hundred people.
The goal of the carbon tax is to encourage individuals and businesses to make a shift towards renewable energy. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended this pricing this week, shortly before a meeting with his Alberta counterpart, Danielle Smith.
We have had one of the worst years for wildfires, for floods and for drought in different parts of the country. The impacts of climate change are real, stressed Justin Trudeau.
I prefer a market-based solution. If your behavior causes pollution that has an effect on the community, you should pay for that pollution, he added.
Canada's Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Steven Guilbeault, defended the carbon tax Thursday morning in Halifax.
Canada's Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Steven Guilbeault, visiting Halifax on Thursday, questioned the position taken by these provinces.
My message to the premiers of the provinces who say they are serious about the fight against climate change, I would like to see what measures they propose to reduce pollution as much as what carbon pricing will allow us to do. This is a third of the reduction in pollution by 2030 in the country, declared Steven Guilbeault during an interview with the show Le reveille Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador< /em>, from ICI Acadie.
The minister recalled that residents now receive carbon tax refunds. For example, in New Brunswick, a family receives $736 per year.
What they don't say is that eight out of ten people get more money from carbon pricing than they get from carbon pricing cost. So, if we take that away, we take away money, we harm the question of affordability, which is the argument that these prime ministers are using, added Mr. Guilbeault.
With information from Pierre Philippe LeBlanc, Tiphanie Roquette and the show Leéveil NS/T.-N.- L. from Radio-Canada and CBC