Liberals blast NDP leader for caving on carbon tax

The Canadian Press / Sean Kilpatrick

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet accused the New Democrats of having no plan to combat ‘climate change' even though their track record paints a less than flattering picture, despite the inflamed rhetoric.

“I do believe that Jagmeet Singh and the NDP actually care about the environment. It's just increasingly obvious that they have no idea what to do to fight against climate change,” claimed Trudeau, believing that taxation will help achieve global cooling. 

Trudeau told reporters Monday that Singh and the NDP “caved to the political pressures” from the Conservatives. Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault concurred with his party leader.

“I was talking with people and they said, ‘What is going on with the new Democrats backing away from backing up climate change?’” Boissonnault told reporters. 

“I said, ‘Well, look, it's pretty simple.’ You're seeing Jagmeet Singh cave under pressure from Pierre Poilievre.” Boissonnault then claimed that ‘climate change’ is the most pressing issue among Gen Z's and millennials.

The Official Opposition passed a motion on April 10 with support from New Democrats opposing the carbon tax. It passed 173 to 150 but failed to compel Trudeau to meet with premiers and discuss the levy. He last held a roundtable with the provinces on the carbon tax in 2016.

The tax rose from $65 to $80 per tonne a week earlier, on April 1. It stipulates annual $15 hikes until 2030 and currently has Canadians paying an extra 12¢ per litre of propane, 15¢ per cubic metre of natural gas, 18¢ per litre of gasoline, 20¢ per litre of aviation fuel and 25¢ per litre of heating oil. 

The New Democrats and Conservatives believed an opt-out clause for provinces should be on the table to “pursue other reasonable ideas to lower emissions.” 

At the time, Trudeau claimed opposition parties made “political hay” out of nothing. The NDP rejected the government narrative, accusing the Liberals of turning the climate into a wedge issue.

Trudeau boasts about his "world leading" carbon tax, which is driving up the cost of living for Canadians, and calls out NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh for "caving" to "political pressures" from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.https://t.co/vD78U502Po pic.twitter.com/T5gzDCxFxt

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) September 13, 2024

“In the 2021 election, they had no serious environmental plan,” Trudeau contends. He told reporters his party “delivered concretely” for Canadians. 

“We put a world leading price on pollution across this country that drops emissions and puts more money back in the pockets of the middle class and people working hard to join it.”

However, the Department of Environment admitted the levy had no impact in reducing most greenhouse gas emissions. Environment Commissioner Jerry DeMarco depicted federal climate programs as guesswork.

In a 2023 report Emission Reductions Through Greenhouse Gas Regulations, DeMarco claimed the Trudeau government has never met an emissions target. "Canada has repeatedly missed its targets to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions," it said. 

“We haven’t had any reductions,” Commissioner DeMarco earlier told the Senate energy committee. “We are up 14 percent since 1990.”

Lib MP Randy Boissonault says he spoke to 3 biz owners who are upset that their govt-reliant business model will fall apart if the Lib-NDP coalition falls apart.

(Sounds a lot like his own business dealings, accused of running a PPE import company as a sitting MP voting on… pic.twitter.com/caxCyZjILl

— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) September 16, 2024

“We took a conservative market-based measure and added a rebate so that it makes sense for consumers,” Minister Boissonnault bragged, claiming eight of 10 Canadians get money back through the Canada carbon rebate.

“It’s a no-brainer policy. It’s smart economics,” he said.

However, it was noted by the Canadian Taxpayer's Federation that the "carbon tax will cost the average family in Ontario $627 a year more than they get back in rebates, according to the PBO." That cost inflates to $911 in Alberta.

“Who will stick up for the planet?” the minister rhetorically asked. “The Liberal Party will because Jagmeet Singh clearly will not.”