Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wanted all the Canadian provinces to do their own carbon tax, and threatened to do a weapons-grade national tax if they didn’t and they aren’t. Ontario, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland all said No. Now the Premier of Manitoba has done some spectacular backflipping to join them.
A mere few weeks ago he was Trudeau’s best friend promising to start collecting a $25-a-ton tax on December 1. Brian Pallister was hoping that his smaller tax would stop Trudeau from hitting them with the big one — a tax that started at $10 and added $10 each year until it reached $50 in 2022. But Trudeau said he’d make them pay twice, and now Pallister has said “No thanks” too. Not only has he pulled the pin on his own tax, but he’s going to fight Trudeau next year to stop The Big One as well.
To appreciate how big a flip this was, ponder that Pallister had been planning to bring in his carbon tax for a year, and even had a special scheme for the big six corporates there to dodge his tax with their own private cap-N-trade scheme. Only small companies needed to save the world. Big ones needed a discount, and possibly grants of saleable carbon credits too. As the Axe The Tax Team in Canada said “In Manitoba, two Carbon Taxes, One Giant Racket. Things have shifted so far, Pallister is going “to look at” the Saskatchewan and Ontario plan to use legal action to stop the Big Bad National Carbon Tax.
Trudeaux’s carbon tax was already looking “pretty much dead”. Now it must be more so. There’s a message for conservatives around the world…
Congrats to the Axe the Tax team. They must be happy today. Good luck to our Canadian friends.
Manitoba backs out of planned carbon tax, says Ottawa not respecting provinces
Steve Lambert, Globe and Mail, October 3
Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister did an about-face on carbon taxes Wednesday, abandoning plans to start charging a levy in December and joining other conservative leaders in flat-out opposition to federal plans.
“We’re forced to either fight (the federal government) in a year, when they invoke a higher tax …. or to stand up to them now. We’re choosing to do it now, not then, because we hope that this will give clarity sooner than if we wait.”
Trudeau’s reply:
“I continue to find it puzzling as to why Conservatives insist on making pollution free,” Trudeau said. “We believe that polluters should pay and that’s why we are putting a price on pollution.”
Conservatives think polluters should pay too, we just think Prime Ministers should know what pollution is.
It was a tax too far
Flashback to when Trudeau and Pallister were Best Friends Forever on September 13, 2018
Three weeks is a long time in politics:
The prime minister, who made a stop in Winnipeg Tuesday, is positively elated.
Especially since Pallister is — as Trudeau described him — a “conservative” leader. Trudeau doesn’t have many conservative leaders, if any, supporting his carbon tax scheme. So when he finds one in the middle of the prairies, naturally he’s very excited about it.
“We are very pleased that Manitoba is moving forward with a strong plan to put a cost on pollution and we will have conversations in the coming years as I know we will have conversations with different provinces across the country,” Trudeau said.
This is great news for the prime minister. Because he’s having a devil of a time convincing other provinces, some of whom are led by conservative premiers, to buy into his carbon tax scheme.
Click to enlarge
hat tip to Pat. :- )