Parties talk carbon tax solutions days before fuel increase

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New Brunswickers will be shaking their heads at the gas pump come Monday while the province's political parties look for ways to lessen the financial burden on consumers.

The federal carbon tax will be imposed starting April 1, hiking New Brunswick gas prices 4.42 cents per litre, plus HST. It's a much larger increase than other Maritime provinces are seeing, but the Progressive Conservative government said its hands are tied by a federal government that refuses to discuss a new, made-in-New Brunswick carbon plan.

"We're in a holding pattern," said Environment and Local Government Minister Jeff Carr, speaking on the New Brunswick political panel.

Carr said efforts made by the Conservatives even before they were sworn in to offer the federal government another plan — after it rejected the one proposed by the Gallant Liberals — have been refused.

He said the PCs asked for a grace period as a newly formed government, but that was denied even by Fredericton MP Matt DeCourcey.

"Blaine Higgs talked to Dominic LeBlanc on the phone and he said there's no chance that we are making any exceptions for New Brunswick," Carr said.

Former Liberal finance minister Cathy Rogers said she thinks the Higgs government should have tried earlier to negotiate a new plan for New Brunswick.

"I think the preference was to keep attacking Trudeau, make it an election issue and really holding New Brunswickers hostage."

If that wasn't going to work, Rogers said the government should have made good on its campaign promise by delivering something in its budget to mitigate the financial impact to New Brunswickers, especially with the modest surplus it had this year.

Green party leader David Coon pointed out its not just New Brunswickers, but all Canadians, who will be paying for carbon on April 1.

He called for implementation of the climate action plan, and for the government to come up with solutions and incentives that will actually help people in the province reduce their carbon footprint.

Coon acknowledges it was difficult to make changes because of timing, but said the government should be able to come up with a solution that brings New Brunswick back to the level of other Maritime provinces for next year.

"In the meantime we have what we have."

It's that meantime that concerns People's Alliance MLA Rick Desaulniers.

He criticized the Gallant government for not doing anything when they knew their plan would not be accepted.

"And I'm not going to give the current government any compliments either. They could have addressed this in the budget, they could have reduced the gas tax, they could have done something to soften it."

Desaulniers said the current situation could have been prevented, but thinks the next plan the province brings to the federal government should include input from all the parties.

Coon and Rogers agreed, saying they would love to collaborate to ensure the next plan is accepted.