QUESTION PERIOD — Environment and Climate Change
Carbon Tax
December 14, 2023
Senator Gold, last week, The Globe and Mail ran the article “The carbon tax helps more than it hurts.” In today’s article, The Globe and Mail quotes the Bank of Canada, which says that carbon pricing contributes only a small amount to the inflation that Canadians are experiencing. However, that article is entitled “Canadians aren’t crazy to think that carbon pricing is hurting their pocketbooks.”
We all know that taxes aren’t popular. The “axe the tax” slogan is catchy for a reason. Senator Gold, what is the government doing to communicate transparently and plainly about the carbon tax?
That is a good question. I don’t think that anyone who has followed this debate can say that the communication of how the price on pollution has worked has been explained and expressed to Canadians as well as it could have been. It is regrettable, because it has allowed a fair measure of disinformation, misinformation to take hold. That has, once again, misled Canadians, in good faith, who are struggling with the cost of living and struggling with these issues to believe wrongly in some of the causes and some of the proffered solutions.
This government has a responsibility to Canadians to continue to explain and to explain better exactly how it works and why, in fact, it does not contribute, as some have claimed, to the cost of groceries or, indeed, to the other matters.
Thank you for your question.
COP 28 in Dubai has concluded with a deal agreed to by nearly 200 nations. It includes a plan to transition away from fossil fuels. A statement saying that global emissions should peak by 2025 was dropped, however, and limited progress was made on climate finance and climate adaptation.
Senator Gold, what are the gaps between the final COP 28 agreement and Canada’s ambitions for it?
As you correctly pointed out, there are things that were not achieved at COP 28, but the Government of Canada continues to work with industry, provinces and territories in order to address these issues as best it can.
For example, the cap on emissions that was announced recently is an important step forward because it recognizes that we are an oil-producing country. We have tailored our approach as best we can, and we’ll continue to move forward, inspired by but not limited by COP 28 agreements.
