Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to hold a “publicly televised” meeting with the premiers to discuss raising the carbon price.
“I think he’s too scared,” Poilievre said Monday morning when asked if he thinks Trudeau would meet the premiers on television.
Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson told reporters on his way to cabinet that Trudeau has been clear with premiers that he is willing to listen to alternative proposals to the federal plan, as long as they incorporate the pollution fallback price.
“At the end of the day, it is up to the provinces to come up with something that is a reasonable option for discussion. Having a conversation with a group of people who don’t have climate plans or any plans to address the climate problem is pretty difficult to have a conversation with. So if they want to be productive, great,” Wilkinson said.
Wilkinson pointed to comments made by Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe at a parliamentary committee just before the carbon price increase, where he said the province looked at alternatives but found they were all too expensive.
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Last week, Trudeau spoke with Manitoba NDP Premier Wab Kinew about his push for Ottawa to recognize a Manitoba alternative to carbon pricing.
Details of that plan have not been presented publicly.
On April 1, the federal support increased from $65 per ton to $80, with the rejection of the majority of the premiers of the jurisdictions in which it applies.
Newfoundland and Labrador Liberal Premier Andrew Furey wrote to Trudeau last month, requesting a meeting to discuss alternatives.
In response, Trudeau sent his own letter to the provinces where the backstop applies (all but British Columbia, Quebec and the Northwest Territories) saying they have always been able to present alternatives that incorporate the backstop.
Now, Poilievre is using the Conservatives’ opposition day motion to force a debate on a meeting.
The motion calls for Trudeau to meet with premiers about the “financial burden it places on Canadians” and plans for provinces to opt out of the federal plan to pursue other “responsible ideas to reduce emissions.”
The motion concludes with the condition that the meeting be held and televised within five weeks of the motion’s adoption.
Trudeau and his ministers are relying on a parliamentary budget officer (PBO) report that says most families receive more money in rebates than they pay in the fuel charge.
Poilievre references the same March 2023 report, which also says most Canadians see a higher net cost when broader economic factors are considered.
The PBO is preparing a new cost analysis of the federal carbon price.
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