OTTAWA—Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said fighting climate change is “politically tough,” which is why he understands that Ontario Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie is distancing herself from the carbon levy.
Crombie criticized the federal tax on Tuesday night during a party fundraising dinner. She said the federal carbon levy is “wrong.”
“I’m not here to tell the prime minister how to do his job, but, I promise you, I will tell him when he’s wrong. Like on the carbon tax,” Crombie said.
Guilbeault said he wasn’t surprised by Crombie’s remarks, but he stands behind the levy.
“It’s not the first time that she’s said that, so there’s nothing surprising there,” he said. “Economists, including Nobel laureates, said that it’s the best way to fight climate change.”
Crombie is not alone among provincial Liberals in distancing herself from the federal tax.
Liberal Premier of Newfoundland Andrew Furey wrote an open letter to Trudeau in the spring calling on Trudeau to pause the annual increase in the tax. Susan Holt, the newly elected Liberal premier of New Brunswick has said she intends to draft her own carbon pricing plan, so her province can be exempt from the federal plan.
The federal carbon tax only applies in provinces that don’t impose their own climate change plans that meet federal standards for emissions reductions. Only British Columbia and Quebec have provincially made plans, with all the other provinces taking the federal program.
The Liberal plan includes a levy on gasoline and heating fuels and rises every April. It also includes regular rebates paid to consumers.
Guilbeault said he understands the tax is unpopular, but it is the right thing to do.
“It’s tough politically and fighting climate change. It is difficult and that’s where you see leadership.”
The minister was asked if he was calling Crombie a weak leader. He said simply that he is acknowledging the politics of climate change are hard.
“Being a leader is doing difficult things sometimes, even if they’re unpopular, but they’re the right thing to do.”
With files from Rob Ferguson
