Carbon tax pledge from PCs ‘better late than never,’ Wynne says

But more details needed, says Premier Kathleen Wynne, while New Democrat Leader Andrea Horwath says the PC party seems to be ‘all over the map.’

Thestar.com
March 7, 2016
By Rob Ferguson

A carbon tax promise from the Progressive Conservatives is “better late than never” as Ontario fights climate change, Premier Kathleen Wynne said Monday.

While PC Leader Patrick Brown announced plans for the proposed levy at his party’s weekend convention in Ottawa, the premier noted her Tory rival is not saying how much the tax on carbon fuels would be.

In the meantime, the Liberal government is moving forward with a cap-and-trade system that will take effect in January, more than a year before the next scheduled provincial election in the fall of 2018.

“The fact is we have had a plan to reduce pollution in this province, to deal with greenhouse gas emissions,” Wynne told reporters. “We shut down all of our coal-fired plants. We made the largest step forward in North American in terms of carbon footprint.”

Asked about an apparent move by Brown to make the PCs more centrist, Wynne replied: “I think we’re going to see epiphanies on a whole bunch of subjects.”

Brown said the Liberal cap-and-trade system, which will boost the average cost of a litre of gasoline by 4.3 cents per litre and household heating bills for natural gas by $5 monthly, is a “cash grab.”

His proposal, which took party members by surprise in a Saturday night speech, is a carbon tax that is revenue-neutral for the government with proceeds going back to citizens as a dividend.

“This is a significant step for the Progressive Conservative Party; we’re willing to have the conversation on climate change. We’re willing to talk about the environment,” Brown said.

It’s “premature” to say how much the tax might be, given that the party has just begun efforts to develop an election platform for 2018. A policy convention will be held a year from now.

New Democrat Leader Andrea Horwath said she’s waiting to see whether the PCs follow through with the promise, given grumbling from some in the party about the tax and concerns Brown is big-footing what party officials pledged would be a grassroots, bottom-up policy development process.

“That’s something Mr. Brown hung his hat on over the weekend. Whether that’s something that’s going to be maintained in terms of their positioning right up until to the next election, I don’t know,” she said.

“My sense is that folks came out (of the convention) more confused and not less confused ... I think time will tell.

“The party seems to be all over the map.”