Concerns expressed over carbon tax
Northern News Services
Monday, October 2, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
By the start of 2018, the territorial government needs to have a carbon price mechanism in place, otherwise the federal government will step in to administer it.
The following is an edited exchange taken from Hansard in the legislative assembly Thursday, Sept. 21, between Kam Lake MLA Kieron Testart and Premier Bob McLeod.
MR. TESTART: I would like to ask the premier if he can provide some clarity on his position towards carbon pricing. He has both made statements that he is supportive of the Pan-Canadian framework, and also that he is seeking an exemption. For those people who do not want that tax, that is a confusing message. Can the premier clearly lay out his vision for a made-in-the-North carbon tax?
HON. BOB MCLEOD: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the Member has been reading too many newspapers because we are, as a government, taking action to deal with carbon pricing, and we have gone through one round of consultations across the Northwest Territories. I have said in this house many times that, with the federal government imposing a carbon price on all of Canada, we will do whatever is required.
We have signed on to a nation-wide carbon pricing agreement, and we are continuing to go forward to implement our responsibilities. The federal government has recognized that. They have said that they will work with us, and that we will all be fully cognizant of the implications of imposing a carbon price on people in the Northwest Territories before we go ahead.
MR. TESTART: I do read the newspaper, and so do my constituents. When they see what is going on with this issue, they are concerned. They want to know what the government plans to do. I appreciate that the premier has laid out his responsibilities very clearly, and I applaud him for that, but what I asked him for was a clear vision. Is it going to be a revenue neutral option, or are we going to see a revenue grab for government to fund clean growth?
We need some certainty here that it is not going to unduly impact our economy and take money out of the pockets of Northerners. Can the premier at least give us some of those assurances? I am not looking for a detailed proposal. I am looking for a broad statement of where the premier wants this to go, and I appreciate we have to consult. That is an important part of our process, but he has to have some idea of where he wants this to end up.
HON. BOB MCLEOD: We always listen to our residents, and we have gone out twice. We are still in the middle of our second round of consultations. We are coming to a close. We are still hearing from stakeholder groups. We will soon be doing an analysis of the online survey responses.
I know the member is very eager for us to impose a carbon tax, and as I said, we have done modelling. We have done all the work necessary. We will get the results. We will sit down and come to a decision. I mean, we all know the federal government has announced a carbon tax.
MR. TESTART: I do not want to impose anything. I want to implement a carbon tax that is going to reduce our emissions, protect our environment, and support our clean growth economy. The premier wants to do that, too. He signed the same declaration.
I am glad we have the model, and I am glad we have all this information, but are we going to be able to implement all this information by the deadline in 2018? It is fast approaching, and we are still in the middle of the second round of consultations. Could the premier provide some clarity on that? Are we going to hit our deadlines?
HON. BOB MCLEOD: I should remind the member that, when British Columbia imposed a carbon tax (of its own), the price of the gas at the pumps increased by 10 cents a litre; multiply that five times is what the federal government is suggesting. It could have an impact on all of us.
I should say, as the member talks about us dragging our feet, well, we are working with the federal government. We have done modelling. We are waiting for an analytical paper from the federal government. We were supposed to receive it by the end of August; now they are shooting for the end of September.
Then we will have discussions with the federal officials so that the federal government will better understand how it will affect the unique nature of the Northwest Territories in implementation and how we deal with carbon placing.
