Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew says that it is time to take another look at how the federal carbon price, popularly known as the carbon tax, is applied in his province.
“I think that there’s an argument that Manitoba is maybe one of the strongest cases you could make, that the price on carbon should be revisited in our jurisdiction,” Kinew told The West Block host Mercedes Stephenson in an interview that aired on Jan. 7.
“It’s definitely something that I know Manitobans would like to see some help with. We’ve put a lot of hard work in over the past five decades to build a low carbon electricity grid. We’ve paid the down payment on that mortgage. We’re in a position to have a low carbon economy going forward into the future.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has repeatedly said there will be no more carve-outs to the federal carbon price after putting a three-year freeze on the levy for home heating oil in October.It’s a move other premiers say disproportionately benefits Atlantic Canada, where a higher proportion of residents use heating oil compared to other provinces.
Since the announcement, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe has instructed Crown utility SaskEnergy to stop collecting the carbon price on home heating. In the Northwest Territories, Premier R.J. Simpson has called for a carbon price exemption for the territory’s residents, citing the high cost of living.