Guilbeault defends carbon pricing as more provincial Liberals voice concern

As concerns about a scheduled increase to the federal carbon price grow, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says provinces are welcome to come up with their own policies, as long as the federal minimum pollution price is used.

His comments come as the Ontario Liberals are the latest provincial party to call for a change to the federal carbon price — with leader Bonnie Crombie saying a government she leads would not have a provincial carbon price similar to the federal model.

“We put in the place the federal system, so provinces that didn’t want to do it wouldn’t have to do it,” Guilbeault told reporters before Question Period Tuesday.

“My understanding of her positions is that she would be happy to fall back to the federal system.”

But speaking in Queen’s Park Tuesday, Crombie said the mandate she is giving the party’s new climate change panel is to develop a policy that doesn’t have an economy-wide carbon price.

“We said, ‘Please evaluate all measures, all opportunities, look broadly, look abroad.’ What’s being done that we can adopt and emulate that won’t cost Ontario families that are already burdened, that can’t handle more taxation, but polluters are held accountable,” Crombie said.

Currently, Ontario does have its own policy in place for heavy industrial emitters that charges a carbon price. The federal fuel charge is in place for things like gasoline and heating homes, since these are not covered by provincial policy.

The Supreme Court of Canada famously ruled in March 2021 that the federal government has the constitutional authority to establish a minimum pollution price.

The April 1 carbon price increase from $65 per tonne to $80 per tonne has taken centre stage in Parliament this week.

Conservative Leader Pierre