Nova Scotia seeking an exemption from federal carbon tax, saying it is doing enough
Premier Tim Houston is asking Ottawa to exempt Nova Scotia from the national carbon tax, saying the federal government's signature bid to reduce greenhouse gas emissions amounts to "punishing" the province.
The Progressive Conservative premier said imposing a carbon tax on Nova Scotians would unduly penalize them because the province's existing efforts to reduce emissions already exceed federal targets.
"I actually think a carbon tax is an appropriate tool at the right time and the right place," Houston told a news conference Friday. "But in Nova Scotia, it's not necessary."
The federal carbon tax will increase the price of carbon by $15 per tonne, and then rise again every year until it reaches $170 per tonne in 2030.
Houston said the tax could cost the average Nova Scotian household more than $2,000 in 2025 and over $3,100 in 2030. He argued the province should move ahead with its own plans "rather than be punished by a 14-cent-per-litre increase in the price of gas."
He also noted that Nova Scotians already pay among the highest power bills in Canada.
On Thursday, Houston submitted a climate-change action plan to Ottawa that lists environmental goals enshrined in provincial legislation last year.
These goals include phasing out coal-fired electricity generation by 2030, pledging to have 80 per cent of the province's energy supplied by renewable sources by 2030 and requiring zero-emission vehicles to account for 30 per cent of vehicle sales that same year.
These goals are the "most aggressive benchmarks in the country and will show results," the premier said.
Kelsey Lane, climate policy co-ordinator with the Halifax-based Ecology Action Centre, said she was shocked by Houston's plan to deal with climate-change.
"We're astonished at the lack of substance in the premier's proposal," Lane said.
Lane said she had hoped the province would introduce its own carbon pricing system because it hasn't said how it plans to reach its emission reduction targets.
"There's no clear accountability mechanisms for how we're going to achieve that," she said. "We could have still gone further."
Houston said he's hopeful federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault will consider the province's plan "with an open mind."
The premier said if Nova Scotia doesn't meet its targets, then the province will welcome the federal carbon tax.
Susan Leblanc, the NDP's environment critic, said she's disappointed in the proposal.
"There isn't anything new, no new details -- no actual plans," Leblanc told reporters after the premier's announcement.
Liberal environment critic Iain Rankin also said the Tories' proposal does not equate to a plan to deal with climate change.
"I wouldn't dignify it by saying that it's even a plan," said Rankin, a former environment minister. "I was hoping to see something I could critique, but this is nothing more than a PowerPoint that goes over targets that were in place."
The province currently operates its own cap-and-trade program for large industrial emitters. The program has been in place since 2019, but it will expire at the end of the year.
Revenue from the cap-and-trade system goes to a provincial Green Fund that contributes to renewable energy and efficiency projects, such as rebates for solar home upgrades.
When asked what will happen when the Green Fund ends, Houston said the province is "committed to continuing to invest in meeting our targets." He did not elaborate.
Leblanc said she was worried by Houston's "extremely vague" response.
"The government needs to actually invest in the programs being funded by the Green Fund and they have to put more investment into them," she said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published August 19, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.