Guilbeault defends carbon price, says on average, households will pay more but rich will shoulder burden
Guilbeault defends carbon price, says on average, households will pay more but rich will shoulder burden
Canada’s environment and climate change minister says that on average, households may eventually pay more for the carbon price than they get back in rebate payments, but the Liberal government is helping Canadians lower their energy costs in other ways.
The carbon price increased this weekend, from $50 to $65 per tonne. According to the Canadian Taxpayers’ Federation, the change will translate to a higher cost for consumers at the gas pumps, from the current 11.05 cents per litre, to 14.31 cents per litre, among other impacts.
The hike comes just days after a report by the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) this week stating that by 2030, when the price of carbon is expected to reach $170 per tonne, most households will see a net loss, despite the rebate payments offered by the federal government to offset the surcharge.
“When both fiscal and economic impacts of the federal fuel charge are considered, we estimate that most households will see a net loss,” PBO Yves Giroux said in a statement following release of the report. “Based on our analysis, most households will pay more in fuel charges and GST—as well as receiving slightly lower incomes—than they will receive in Climate Action Incentive payments.”
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault told CTV’s Question Period host Vassy Kapelos in an interview airing Sunday that while "on average, households will pay more” because of the carbon price increase, even after the rebates, he says the system is designed to be proportional, meaning wealthier Canadians will still foot larger bills.
“If you do the average, yeah, it's true, it's going to cost more money to people, but the people who are paying are the richest among us, which is exactly how the system was designed,” he said.
“So the rich pay more for their carbon consumption and their carbon pollution, and we're supporting, through the transition, middle class Canadians and low income Canadians, and that's exactly what we're doing,” he also said.
Guilbeault said that while the rebates may not cover the full cost for Canadians, the federal government is doing a number of other things to mitigate the cost of climate change and help people transition to a lower carbon future. He cited incentive programs to purchase electric vehicles, and home energy retrofits to reduce home heating costs, as examples.
“This is another way we're helping Canadians reduce their environmental impact, but also their overall energy costs,” he said, adding the PBO’s report does not take into account the cost of the impacts of climate change.
But when pressed on the system itself and a commitment that most households wouldn’t be out of pocket for the carbon price, Guilbeault again pointed to it being proportional, and lower income Canadians seeing greater rebates.
“We have said that the rebates would help the people most in need in Canada and that's exactly what the system is doing,” he said.
Guilbeault also said in a statement this week the PBO report does “not account for economic opportunities that come with driving clean tech innovation,” and referenced the recently tabled federal budget and the earmarked funds for clean energy included in it.
“That’s like a business calculating their revenues, by looking only at one side of their ledger book,” he said of the PBO report.
The federal Conservatives have repeatedly issued calls for the Liberals to axe the carbon price, with party leader Pierre Poilievre saying in the House of Commons this week: “It’s April Fool’s Day, and the joke will be on Canadians. Why won’t they cancel this tax?”
Meanwhile in Ontario, the carbon price became a source of friction between Premier Doug Ford and Guilbeault this week. Ford has been critical of the program, and on Wednesday, Guilbeault said he found the comment “incredibly rich coming from a premier who has no plan to fight climate change.”
The comment prompted the premier to call Guilbeault a “real piece of work.”
“I didn't say that Ontario wasn't doing anything,” Guilbeault told CTV’s Question Period. “I said that the Ontario government has no climate plan, which is true, and they've admitted as much themselves.”
He added he considers a “plan” one with a series of measures with targets and progress reporting.
Guilbeault said despite the back-and-forth comments this week, he works closely with the Ontario government and its ministers to "try and find a path forward" on several environmental projects and policies.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's efforts to assure Canadians that his government is adequately addressing the threat of foreign interference took a hit on Wednesday, when the majority of MPs in the House of Commons voted for special rapporteur David Johnston to 'step aside,' a call Johnston quickly rejected.
A New Democrat MP is trying to convince his colleagues to change the rules that govern the House of Commons in a series of ways he says would instill 'democratic controls' on the prime minister's 'unfettered' powers.
Monday morning, the Public Service Alliance of Canada announced it had reached a 'tentative' agreement with the federal government for the 120,000 picketing Treasury Board workers who, since April 19, had been engaged in one of the largest strikes in Canadian history. Here's a rundown of the developments from Parliament Hill as they happened.
The House committee studying foreign election interference heard from top 2019 and 2021 Liberal and Conservative campaign directors on Tuesday, with party officials from both camps speaking about the need for politicians to come together to address any "legislative gaps" ahead of the next vote.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
Danielle Smith's win in the Alberta election hands her the most starkly divided province confronting any premier in Canada, writes commentator Don Martin.
Special rapporteur David Johnston didn't recommend public inquiry knowing it was a pathetically insufficient response for a foreign democratic assault of this magnitude, writes Don Martin in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca.
To frame a few new illustrations on pages tucked inside a passport as proof of a Liberal plot to purge the Canadian historical record seems like a severe stretch, writes Don Martin in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino is a bright former federal prosecutor, who was destined to be a star in Justin Trudeau's cabinet. But in an opinion column on CTVNews.ca, Don Martin argues Mendicino has taken a stunning fall from grace, stumbling badly on important issues just 18 months into the job.
It's the most peculiar of elections with the frontrunner and her main opponent being the same person, writes columnist Don Martin. 'In the looming Alberta showdown, it's Premier Danielle Smith versus her mouth.'
Hundreds of American firefighters have recently arrived in Canada to help battle wildfires and more are on the way, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday.
An official recommendation to wear a mask to protect yourself from wildfire smoke is being echoed by health experts as plumes of smoke make their way across parts of Canada, causing poor air quality.
Photos show smoke-filled skies in cities across Canada and the U.S. as air quality warnings were issued in wake of the hundreds of wildfires from Quebec and Ontario.
As forest fires rage across the country, experts are sounding the alarm over the physical and psychological impacts of the wildfires and saying that they pose a serious public health issue, which individuals and governments need to acknowledge and act upon.
With the latest hike bringing Canada's key interest rates to levels not seen since 2001, one mortgage broker is warning that it may be 'the last straw' for some homeowners with variable mortgages.
Canadians are twice as likely to support a formal inquiry into foreign interference, as opposed to public hearings, according to new polling from Nanos Research for CTV News.
It's been a busy, tumultuous few days for Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex as he took his place on the witness stand in his trial against the Mirror Group Newspapers. Here are royal commentator Afua Hagan's top takeaways from his two-day grilling.
The man who was found not criminally responsible in the stabbing deaths of five people at a house party in Brentwood more than nine years ago is seeking more freedoms.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is showing no interest in compromising with Meta and Google over a Liberal bill that would make them pay for Canadian journalism that helps the companies generate revenue.
Hundreds of American firefighters have recently arrived in Canada to help battle wildfires and more are on the way, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday.
A man who helped return a 140-year-old Tlingit robe to the British Columbia First Nation where it was created says it's as if the regalia called out to its people and they are bringing it home.
An Ontario man has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Claudia Iacono, the daughter-in-law of Mafia associate Moreno Gallo, after she was gunned down at the wheel of her car in Montreal last month.
The man who was found not criminally responsible in the stabbing deaths of five people at a house party in Brentwood more than nine years ago is seeking more freedoms.
In the first study of its kind to tie survey data to health records, researchers found that bisexual women were three times more likely to attempt suicide compared to heterosexual women.
Thousands of Canadians have had to leave their homes in several provinces over the last few weeks due to forest fires. Luckily, there are steps you can take to protect your property, both prior to an evacuation and during.
In a courageous display of resistance, a group of Afghan women activists danced in Kabul as a form of protest in a country where women are banned from attending school, work and even going to parks.
A missing-persons activist in western Mexico said Wednesday that call center workers have been going missing in Mexico since at least 2017, and that authorities have done little to solve the cases.
More top officials could soon follow the foreign minister in quitting to compete for the presidency, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Wednesday, as the race to succeed him begins to thin out the government.
A federal grand jury investigating Donald Trump in Florida heard from at least one additional witness Wednesday amid signs that the Justice Department was moving toward a possible indictment over the former president's mishandling of classified documents.
A group of climate activists claimed responsibility on Wednesday for deflating the tires of sport utility vehicles in Denmark's capital. More than 100 vehicles were vandalized, police said.
Canadians are twice as likely to support a formal inquiry into foreign interference, as opposed to public hearings, according to new polling from Nanos Research for CTV News.
Hazy skies tinged with an eery yellow glow greeted millions of Canadians in Quebec and Ontario again Wednesday as the smoke from hundreds of wildfires continued to cause air quality warnings in Canada's most populated corridor. In a bizarre twist of fate, on a day when air quality was among the worst the country has ever seen, it was national Clean Air Day in Canada.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is showing no interest in compromising with Meta and Google over a Liberal bill that would make them pay for Canadian journalism that helps the companies generate revenue.
As forest fires rage across the country, experts are sounding the alarm over the physical and psychological impacts of the wildfires and saying that they pose a serious public health issue, which individuals and governments need to acknowledge and act upon.
Being a 'sleep procrastinator' might not only make you grumpy the next day, it can put your health at risk. A sleep expert shares tips for making sure bedtime is shut-eye time.
Two people died in what officials believe was a mass fentanyl overdose over the weekend involving five people in a hotel room in the Hawaii tourist mecca of Waikiki.
The James Webb Space Telescope set its sights on a galaxy 20 million light-years away, capturing a dazzling star-forming galaxy in images streaked with the signature of passing asteroids.
Reporters are a skeptical bunch, so it was unusual to hear so many of them raving about their firsthand experience with Apple's next Big Thing: the high-priced headset called Vision Pro, a device infused with totally virtual reality as well as augmented reality that projects digital images on top of real-world settings.
As artificial intelligence programs such as ChatGPT offer new tools for creativity and content creation, one company is using AI-powered software in tandem with classic literature in a way you might not expect.
An actor known for his roles on the comedy television shows "Bob's Burgers" and "Mr. Show with Bob and David" was arrested Wednesday on charges that he joined a mob of Donald Trump supporters in confronting police officers during the U.S. Capitol riot, court records show.
Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson released the first episode of his new show on Twitter on Tuesday, weeks after being taken off the air by the network following a damaging defamation lawsuit over false claims of election fraud.
With the latest hike bringing Canada's key interest rates to levels not seen since 2001, one mortgage broker is warning that it may be 'the last straw' for some homeowners with variable mortgages.
In a good month, Celina Chanthanouvong has about US$200 left after rent, groceries and car insurance. That doesn't factor in her student loans, which have been on hold since the start of the pandemic and are estimated to cost US$300 a month. The pause in repayment has been a lifeline keeping the 25-year-old afloat.
Montana became the first state in the U.S. to enact a complete ban on TikTok on Wednesday when Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a measure that's more sweeping than any other state's attempts to curtail the social media app, which is owned by a Chinese tech company.
Years ago, when my now-grown daughter Justine was a toddler, we visited a U-pick farm where she plucked plump, ripe strawberries from a field of sprawling plants. Some made it into the basket on that sunny June day; others went directly into her mouth.
Brittney Griner had a Texas homecoming, in private, out at dinner and on the court with the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA star's home state six months after her release from a Russian prison.
Pinch-hitter Alejandro Kirk singled in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, Bo Bichette and Brandon Belt hit solo home runs and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Houston Astros 3-2 Wednesday night.
With the stench of smoke permeating Yankee Stadium and wafting through its walkways, Major League Baseball postponed games in New York and Philadelphia on Wednesday night because of poor air quality caused by Canadian wildfires.
Insurance industry group Equite Association says vehicle theft in multiple provinces surged last year. Vehicle theft was up by 50 per cent in Quebec year over year, by 48.3 per cent in Ontario, by 34.5 per cent in Atlantic Canada and by 18.3 per cent in Alberta.
Ontario has committed to paying a third of the cost to save a $5-billion electric vehicle battery plant in Windsor, Ont., premier Doug Ford said Thursday.
Former Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone on Tuesday formally pleaded not guilty to a fraud charge over his alleged failure to declare millions of dollars held in a trust in Singapore to Britain's government.
