Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces mandatory carbon tax of at least $10 per tonne from 2018, as part of efforts to 'make a real and honest effort' to tackle climate change
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has confirmed his government will impose a mandatory carbon tax from 2018 onwards on all provinces that fail to implement their own carbon levy or emissions cap-and-trade systems.
The announcement was made by Trudeau yesterday in the Canadian House of Commons, at the start of a debate on the ratification of the Paris Agreement, which Canada is expected to approve tomorrow. Trudeau said the new carbon tax will help Canada deliver the greenhouse gas emissions cuts it promised under the Paris Agreement.
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The country has pledged to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030.
Under the plans, from 2018 carbon pollution will cost $10 per tonne, rising by $10 a year until it hits $50 per tonne in 2022. Any provinces that do not impose a carbon tax or cap-and-trade scheme that meets this minimum standard will have the tax imposed by the federal government.
"There is no hiding from climate change," Trudeau told parliament. "It is real and it is everywhere. We cannot undo the last 10 years of inaction. What we can do is make a real and honest effort - today and every day - to protect the health of our environment, and with it, the health of all Canadians."
The plan was trailed by Environment Minister Catherine McKenna last month. Speaking on national politics TV show Question Period, she said the new emissions regime will act as a "backstop" for provinces that do not regulate their own emissions effectively.
Trudeau insisted any revenues from the scheme will remain in the province where they are generated, claiming the scheme will help generate hundreds of thousands of clean technology jobs and boost regional economies.
Four of Canada's largest provinces - British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec - currently either have a carbon taxation or cap-and-trade system in place or plan to introduce one in the near future.
However, the national government's insistence that all of the country's 10 provinces must have a carbon price was met with anger from some energy generating states, which have fiercely resisted attempts in the past by the federal government to intervene to strengthen their energy and climate policies.
The Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall labelled the plan as "one of the largest national tax increases in Canadian history".
"The level of disrespect shown by the prime minister and his government is stunning," he said in a statement. "This new tax will damage our economy. The bottom line is that the Saskatchewan economy, already hurting from a downturn in commodity prices, will be one of the hardest hit by a new federal carbon tax because of our trade-exposed resource industries."
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