New Brunswick’s premier says the province will have to find a way to make a carbon tax work.
Blaine Higgs made the comments after the federal Liberals were re-elected for another term Monday.
“I don’t have a choice,” said Higgs when asked how the province would move forward on the issue.
“People voted for [a carbon tax] so we have to find a way in New Brunswick to make it work.”
The federal government imposed a carbon pricing backstop on New Brunswick after rejecting the province’s original carbon plan.
The province submitted a revised plan in June, but Higgs said they are still waiting to hear if it will be accepted.
“It didn’t include a carbon tax but it included a ‘polluter pays’ program,” he said of the revised plan.
“Our position was always let the industry pay for the technology to put into research and development and not force taxpayers to pay that.”
Under New Brunswick’s proposed plan, large industrial emitters would be required to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 10 per cent by 2030. The province has said the standards fall within the range of what the federal government has approved for other jurisdictions.
Higgs was asked Tuesday if the province would consider its own carbon tax on consumers as a substitute to the federal government’s backstop.
“Yes, yes I will,” he said. “I can’t ignore the obvious here.”
“The message is clear: people have voted for a carbon tax, even in New Brunswick. Although we now have representatives from the Conservative side that will go to Ottawa, still there was a strong showing from Liberals ad Greens.”
The Liberals retained six of the province’s 10 seats, while the Conservatives were elected in three ridings and the Green Party in one riding.
Higgs would not say if the province would intervene in ongoing court cases over the federal carbon tax.
“I haven’t had a chance to talk to my colleagues … to see where that goes,” he said.
“But we do have to have that discussion, where do we go next? Because in many ways, the Canadians have spoken on this issue.”
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