A new climate change plan for the federal government is ramping up the price on carbon pollution.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau explains that proceeds are returned to households with most getting back more than they paid in provinces where the federal system applies.
The price will rise by $15 per tonne after 2022 through to 2030, with the goal of exceeding the target of reducing greenhouse gas by 30 per cent of the 2005 emissions.
Putting a price on carbon pollution is another term for what Premier Scott Moe would call a carbon tax.
The governments of Saskatchewan, Alberta and Ontario have presented arguments to the Supreme Court that the tax is unconstitutional, but a decision hasn’t been announced yet.
Trudeau says, “There are some jurisdictions still don’t understand that the only way to build a strong economy for the future is to protect the environment at the same time. There are some places in this country that still want to make pollution free again. We’re not going to do that.”
He adds that 75 per cent of the investments in clean tech technology in Canada is from the oil and gas industry.
The plan is called A Health Environment and A Healthy Economy and it expands on the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change which was introduced in 2016.
The new plan includes $15-billion in investments in addition to the Canada Infrastructure Bank’s $6-billion for clean infrastructure, which was announced in the fall.
The federal government will invest $1.5-billion over three years to improve the energy efficiency of community buildings and $2.6-billion over seven years to help homeowners make their homes more efficient with grants of up to $5,000.