Senator says carbon pricing deadline is unrealistic
Dennis Patterson says unanswered questions, fall election handcuffing territory
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Monday, July 24, 2017
IQALUIT
Nunavut Senator Dennis Patterson says the territory does not have the time to have a new carbon pricing regime in place by 2018, as the federal government has dictated it must.
Sen. Patterson says he remains concerned about the fact that no one in the territory knows exactly what a carbon tax is going to look like. - NNSL file photo |
In a speech to the Iqaluit Chamber of Commerce on June 29, Patterson said that he remains concerned about the fact that no one in the territory knows exactly what a carbon tax is going to look like.
"It's simply not possible given Nunavut's singularly unique energy situation - unique in all of Canada," Patterson told the chamber. "We can't rush this process. The government should not end up asking people who have very little money and who are feeling the huge impacts of climate change to pay more."
Carbon pricing is a mechanism meant to alter behaviours of consumers by making it cheaper to use alternative sources of energy rather than dirty and polluting carbon-generating fossil fuels.
Those alternatives include natural gas, solar, wind and hydro power.
Patterson pointed out that on Dec. 9, 2016 in Vancouver, Nunavut signed on to the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean growth and Climate Change at the First Ministers' Conference.
"While that may be discombobulating for some, we need to remember that Nunavut is a jurisdiction reliant on federal transfers. Budget 2017-18 shows that almost 69 per cent of its budget expenditures will come from the federal government so Nunavut must be wary of biting that hand that feeds," Patterson said. "It is also important to note that the federal government promised during those talks to accommodate the Northern territories, recognizing their unique challenges in transitioning to low-carbon economies."
Patterson pointed out that Nunavut is unique from the other two Northern territories in that it has a 100 per cent reliance on diesel power generation. By contrast the NWT generates about 76 per cent of its electricity from hydro while Yukon generates almost 95 per cent of its total power from hydro.
"The reality is that governments - the GN and municipal governments -are huge consumers of fuel and electricity, so a tax on carbon emissions means that Nunavut governments might end up in effect taxing ourselves," Patterson said.
He added that the federal government must do more to explore alternatives to diesel in the territory. Patterson said the economies of scale made it challenging to justify the cost of alternative energy systems due to Nunavut's widely scattered, remote communities with no road access and small populations.
"Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) has been granted $84-million to study alternatives to diesel in the off-road communities. Nunavut is represented in the working group but so far progress has been limited in my opinion," Patterson told the audience. "Canada has a lot more investing to to do in alternative energy before an effective carbon-pricing regime can be instituted in Nunavut."
Patterson said he believes there needs to be more study done on how a carbon tax would affect consumers and businesses. He said he has asked Catherine McKenna, minister of environment and climate change for details on how the feds would accommodate Nunavut in terms of a carbon tax. He said McKenna acknowledges the economic insecurity and acute poverty in Nunavut. But it is still not clear exactly what accommodations the feds are willing to make for the territory.
"We are running out of time. A territorial election is looming this fall and 2018, the year in which carbon pricing is to be in place, is just around the corner," Patterson said.
"How realistic is it for Nunavut to consider the results of a promised study and develop new legislation to put a price on carbon while and election is going on a a new territorial government is out in place?"
