Provincial finance ministers press Freeland on carbon tax changes during CPP meeting
New Brunswick premier says he's seeking legal opinion on whether he can stop collecting the carbon tax
A number of provincial finance ministers said they pressed Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland on the federal government's recent changes to the carbon tax during a meeting on Friday.
Friday's talks were meant to be about Alberta's proposal to leave the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP); Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy wrote to Freeland last week requesting a meeting. But a number of finance ministers said the carbon tax was also raised.
Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner told CBC News Network's Power & Politics that he was frustrated by what he saw as Freeland's unwillingness to discuss the issue on Friday.
"I actually told Minister Bethlenfalvy ... 'Maybe you should write [Freeland] a letter on carbon tax seeing as you got this meeting in a week,'" he told host David Cocrhane.
Saskatchewan Finance Minister Donna Harpauer echoed Horner's frustration.
"I am extremely disappointed with the complete disregard from Minister Freeland to speak about the carbon tax crisis," Harpauer said in a media statement.
During a press conference following the meeting, Freeland was asked about provincial ministers wanting to discuss the carbon tax. She said Friday's meeting was meant to discuss the CPP.
"I called a special meeting. Ministers came to attend the meeting specifically because of that invitation to discuss that subject," she said. "I absolutely recognize that there are a lot of different issues that provinces and territories are interested in."
The finance ministers are set to hold an annual meeting in December. Freeland suggested other topics could be discussed there.
The Liberals have been facing a wave of political backlash after announcing a three-year carbon tax exemption for heating oil.
Some opposition parties and premiers have said that exemption isn't fair to those who heat their homes with other fuels such as natural gas and propane.
While the exemption for home heating oil applies across the country, its effects will be felt most in Atlantic Canada.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, almost one in five households use home heating oil. Two in five Prince Edward Island households and one in three Nova Scotia households are heated with furnace oil. In New Brunswick, one in about every 14 households uses home heating oil.
Following Friday's meeting, the finance ministers of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta issued a joint statement calling for an end to the carbon tax.
"We urge the federal government to eliminate the carbon tax to ensure fairness and ease financial pressure on Canadians," the statement said.
When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the exemption last week, he said the Atlantic Liberal caucus had been calling for the change.
On Friday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford wrote an open letter to Ontario MP James Maloney, the head of the Ontario Liberal caucus, calling on him to push for further exemptions.
"It is time for you to do the same as your Atlantic colleagues and advocate for the families you are elected to represent," Ford wrote.
In a separate interview on Power & Politics, Bethlenfalvy said the carbon tax is becoming "an issue of national unity."
"You can't lean in because there's a bigger Liberal caucus in Atlantic Canada and leave the rest of Canada behind," Bethlenfalvy told Cochrane.
New Brunswick exploring options to stop collecting carbon tax
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs told CBC Radio's The House that he is now seeking a legal opinion on whether his province could stop collecting the carbon tax altogether.
"Certainly if I have the legal ability to do that, yes, I would [stop collecting the tax]," he told host Catherine Cullen in an interview airing Saturday.
New Brunswick is the second province to suggest it might not collect the carbon tax.
On Monday, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe suggested that SaskEnergy — the provincial Crown corporation responsible for natural gas distribution — would stop collecting the carbon tax in January if an exemption isn't extended to other heating fuels.
When asked on Friday, Freeland wouldn't speculate about the legal penalties provinces could face if they refuse to collect the tax.
"The federal government expects everyone in Canada to obey the law," she said.
On Tuesday, Saskatchewan's minister responsible for SaskEnergy, Dustin Duncan, said the province is preparing for any dispute with Ottawa that might come up if the province stops collecting the tax.
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