Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are "not telling the truth" when it comes to the carbon tax.
Doubling down on a letter penned the day prior, the prime minister accused his pollution-pricing opponents of "misleading Canadians," for not acknowledging the much-maligned April 1 price increase coincides with an increase to the quarterly federal rebate households receive.
"For ideological reasons, or reasons of pure partisanship, conservative politicians across this country are not telling the truth to Canadians. And that's why I called them out," Trudeau said during a press conference Wednesday in Vancouver.
He accused Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, and Canadian premiers opposed to the marquee Liberal policy, of trying to take money out of people's pockets, in direct contrast to their argument that the carbon tax is driving up costs across sectors.
Tensions have been high on Parliament Hill amid escalating Conservative-led opposition to the carbon tax, ahead of the incoming hike that will see the $65-per-tonne carbon price increase to $80 per tonne.
Trudeau's comments came hours after he joined the flurry of political leaders penning open letters about the carbon tax, and as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
There, Liberal MPs were outraged over the Conservatives unilaterally inviting premiers opposed to the carbon tax to come testify.
Sparks fly over premiers testifying
Wednesday's hearing was sparked by the premiers of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan and Alberta publishing letters asking to appear urgently before the Liberal-led House Finance Committee to air their concerns about the looming hike.
With their request left unheeded — MPs are not sitting this week and most committees do not have meetings scheduled — Conservative MP and Government Operations and Estimates Committee chair Kelly McCauley decided to invite them instead.
But before the first premier on the docket — Saskatchewan's Scott Moe — could begin his testimony, numerous points of order were raised by Liberal MPs.
"You called the meeting unilaterally without instruction or consultation with the members of this committee… This is a political stunt and theatre, just part and parcel of where our Conservative colleagues are taking this, to get clips," Liberal MP Irek Kusmierczyk said.
Liberal MP Francis Drouin warned that setting this precedent would not be one Conservatives would be pleased with in the end, when Liberal committee chairs start calling witnesses at their sole discretion.
Defending the move as "fully within" his powers, McCauley made the case that because MPs were studying government spending plans, hearing what premiers had to say was relevant.
"There's lots of examples of other chairs doing such things. It is the privilege and obligation, I think, of the chair to call meetings," he said. "And I did so."
Not 'climate laggard': Moe, PBO testify
Twenty-five minutes into the hearing, Moe was given the floor.
"I do appreciate the very warm Canadian welcome," he said.
"I wore my red tie in the spirit of collaboration," Moe went on, launching into his arguments about why he thinks the federal price on pollution is making life more unaffordable and why he doesn't consider Saskatchewan a "climate laggard."
Facing questions from pro-carbon pricing Liberal, NDP and Bloc Quebecois MPs, the premier said while he believes in climate change and the need to reduce emissions, instead of forcing polluters to pay more, they should just emit less in order to displace higher-emitting competitors.
"That is how we build a strong Canadian economy. That is how we lower global emissions. And that's how we employ Canadians in your community, and in mine," Moe said.
Testifying after him, Canada's Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) faced a series of questions about his past and recent highly cited, but contradictorily interpreted, analysis of the economic impact of the carbon tax.
"You've been in the press almost as much as Miss Taylor Swift, I think, in recent days," Conservative MP Philip Lawrence said. Stating he was seeking clarity, he asked: "For the average family where the backstop applies, is there more money coming into Canadians' pockets, or leaving their pockets?"
"If one looks at the fiscal impact — that is the amount of the carbon tax paid directly, indirectly and the GST that applies on these embedded or direct carbon taxes paid minus the carbon rebate — most families are better off," PBO Yves Giroux started.
However, he went on, once the economic impacts of the carbon tax on some sectors of the economy such as oil and gas and transportation are factored in, "we find that most Canadian families in provinces where the federal backstop regime is in place will see a small negative impact of the carbon tax."
Liberal MPs were quick to question why Giroux did not factor in the cost of climate change in his calculations, to which the PBO said it's outside of the scope of his mandate, suggesting MPs look to external think tanks for that type of cost-benefit analysis.
From there, the hearing devolved into protracted procedural fighting over holding a second hearing with additional witnesses on Thursday. On the docket for that meeting are New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.
Trudeau to premiers: offer alternative
In Trudeau's late Tuesday letter responding to Canada's premiers, he implored them to come up with a better climate action plan.
In a two-page message posted on social media, Trudeau defended the carbon pricing and coinciding rebate program as intentionally designed to be revenue-neutral and beneficial to most Canadian households, while driving climate action.
"Putting a price on pollution is the foundation of any serious plan to fight climate change. It is the most efficient way to reduce emissions across the economy," Trudeau wrote. "Carbon pricing alone will account for one-third of our emission reductions by 2030."
Noting that the federal plan is a backstop for provinces that failed to implement an adequate system of their own, Trudeau said the federal government remains open to pulling its plan out of the provinces where it is opposed, as soon as they propose "credible systems."
Currently the federal price is imposed in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
In effect since 2019, the pollution pricing regime applies a levy on greenhouse gas emissions, making it more expensive to burn fossil fuels in an effort to encourage Canadians to change their habits.
The prime minister called it "demonstrably false" that the carbon tax is a significant driver of inflation, pointing back to a Bank of Canada calculation also cited by a series of economists in an open letter issued Tuesday seeking to counter the Conservative-led opposition arguments against the policy.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Not a scarient': New COVID-19 subvariant dominant in Canada
A new COVID-19 subvariant is dominant in Canada, representing just over 30 per cent of cases in the country, but infectious disease experts say there’s no sign it’ll evolve into a summer 'scarient.'
An imbalance of two healthy fats affects your early death risk, study finds
Eating enough healthy fats is great for brain and heart health, but new research has possibly provided even more evidence for adding them, particularly omega-3s, to your diet.
Sun shoots out biggest solar flare in almost 2 decades, but Earth should be out of the way this time
The sun produced its biggest flare in nearly two decades Tuesday, just days after severe solar storms pummelled Earth and created dazzling northern lights in unaccustomed places.
Growing wildfires across Western Canada are forcing thousands from their homes
Thousands of people in Western Canada remain displaced from their homes as wildfires threaten their communities, triggering evacuation orders and alerts.
Victim loses $2M in online romance scam
A Malahide Township resident is out more than $2 million following a romance scam.
'Inappropriate' behaviour shuts down Dublin to New York City portal
Less than a week after two public sculptures featuring a livestream between Dublin, Ireland, and New York City debuted, 'inappropriate behaviour' in real-time interactions between people in the two cities has prompted a temporary shutdown.
DEVELOPING Massive manhunt in France for prison-break gang that gunned down officers
A massive manhunt was underway in France on Wednesday for an armed gang that killed two prison officers and seriously injured three others to spring an inmate they were escorting.
Federal Tory Leader Poilievre targets illicit drugs in B.C. hospitals
Federal Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre says the Conservatives will put forward legislation that would forbid Ottawa from "ever" granting provinces exemptions to allow illicit drug use in hospitals.
Life in limbo: Wildfire evacuees struggle through nail-biting wait
More than 2,000 people forced to pack up and leave Fort Nelson, B.C., are trying to adjust to life as evacuees, and the constant concern about what is happening back home.
Local Spotlight
'We're on standby': Team ready to help entangled right whale in Gulf of St. Lawrence
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Thieves caught on camera stealing pet chicken from North Vancouver backyard
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Adopted daughter in the Netherlands reunited with sister in Montreal and mother in Colombia, 40 years later
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
'Reimagining Mother's Day': Toronto woman creates Motherless Day event after losing mom
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
Chris Hadfield inspires youth musical in Sudbury
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.
Ottawa pizzeria places among top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world at international competition
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
Wilfrid Laurier football player drafted despite only playing 27 games in his entire life
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
Federal government bans watercraft from Manitoba lake popular with tourists
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.