A number of provincial finance ministers said they pressed Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland on the federal government’s recent changes to the carbon tax during a meeting on Friday.
Freeland called the meeting to discuss Alberta’s proposal to leave the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP). A number of finance ministers said the carbon tax was also raised.
Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner said he and a number of other ministers brought up the issue but it wasn’t fully addressed during the meeting.
“Canadians remain in the midst of an affordability crisis and the carbon tax continues to hurt us all. While a number of us had hoped to also address this issue during the call, I am very eager to have a fulsome conversation at our next [meeting],” he said in a media statement.
Saskatchewan Finance Minister Donna Harpauer expressed frustration with what she called Freeland’s reluctance to discuss the carbon tax.
“I am extremely disappointed with the complete disregard from Minister Freeland to speak about the carbon tax crisis,” Harpauer said in a media statement.
During a press conference following the meeting, Freeland was asked about provincial ministers wanting to discuss the carbon tax. She said Friday’s meeting was meant to discuss the CPP and pointed out that she called the meeting at Ontario’s request.
“I called a special meeting. Ministers came to attend the meeting specifically because of that invitation to discuss that subject,” she said. “I absolutely recognize that there are a lot of different issues that provinces and territories are interested in.”
Featured VideoCalls come from more premiers and from the Conservatives to make more exemptions to the federal carbon tax as the prime minister says there will be no more.
The finance ministers are set to hold an annual meeting in December. Freeland suggested other topics could be discussed there.
The Liberals have been facing a wave of political backlash after announcing a three-year carbon tax exemption for heating oil.
Some opposition parties and premiers have said that exemption isn’t fair to those who heat their homes with other fuels such as natural gas and propane.
While the exemption for home heating oil applies across the country, its effects will be felt most in Atlantic Canada.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, almost one in five households use home heating oil. Two in five Prince Edward Island households and one in three Nova Scotia households are heated with furnace oil. In New Brunswick, one in about every 14 households uses home heating oil.
When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the exemption last week, he said the Atlantic Liberal caucus had been calling for the change.
On Friday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford wrote an open letter to Ontario MP James Maloney, the head of the Ontario Liberal caucus, calling on him to push for further exemptions.
“It is time for you to do the same as your Atlantic colleagues and advocate for the families you are elected to represent,” Ford wrote.
Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy — who initially requested the CPP meeting — told CBC News Network’s Power & Politics that the carbon tax is becoming “an issue of national unity.”
“You can’t lean in because there’s a bigger Liberal caucus in Atlantic Canada and leave the rest of Canada behind,” Bethlenfalvy told host David Cochrane in an interview airing Friday.
New Brunswick exploring options to stop collecting carbon tax
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs told CBC Radio’s The House that he is now seeking a legal opinion on whether his province could stop collecting the carbon tax altogether.
“Certainly if I have the legal ability to do that, yes, I would [stop collecting the tax],” he told host Catherine Cullen in an interview airing Saturday.
New Brunswick is the second province to suggest it might not collect the carbon tax.
On Monday, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe suggested that SaskEnergy — the provincial Crown corporation responsible for natural gas distribution — would stop collecting the carbon tax in January if an exemption isn’t extended to other heating fuels.
When asked on Friday, Freeland wouldn’t speculate about the legal penalties provinces could face if they refuse to collect the tax.
“The federal government expects everyone in Canada to obey the law,” she said.
On Tuesday, Saskatchewan’s minister responsible for SaskEnergy, Dustin Duncan, said the province is preparing for any dispute with Ottawa that might come up if the province stops collecting the tax.