Poilievre turns to Parliament to force Trudeau meet with premiers on the carbon tax

John Paul Tasker · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 09, 2024 1:31 PM EDT | Last Updated: 13 minutes ago

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is asking MPs to compel Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to sit down with the premiers to discuss the federal carbon tax at a first ministers' meeting.

Poilievre tabled a motion in the House of Commons that demands Trudeau "convene a carbon tax emergency meeting" with Canada's 14 provincial and territorial leaders to address the "ongoing carbon tax crisis and the financial burden it places on Canadians."

It also asks that Trudeau accept "plans for provinces to opt-out of the federal carbon tax to pursue other responsible ideas to lower emissions" — an ongoing request of some premiers who maintain they can fight climate change in their jurisdictions through measures other than a tax.

Trudeau has so far rebuffed calls to meet with the premiers on the issue.

Last week, in an interview with CBC Radio's The Current, Trudeau said he met with the premiers in 2016 and a pan-Canadian climate change plan was agreed to then. The plan included a price of carbon designed to drive down the country's emissions.

Speaking to reporters on Parliament Hill Tuesday, Poilievre said Trudeau is dodging a face-to-face with the premiers because he's "too scared."

"Trudeau is in hiding. Do you blame him? He's losing the debate. Canadians want to axe the tax. There is going to be a carbon tax election and whether Trudeau hides from me or not, he's going to have to face me in a carbon tax election," he said.

Later in the Commons, Poilievre touted the premiers' meeting as a chance to force the federal government to finally change course.

"Let's grant relief to our people now," he said.

It's the latest manoeuvre by Poilievre and his party to stir up opposition to the carbon levy, which increased as planned on April 1 despite repeated Conservative attempts to delay the spike.

In an attempt to bring down the government over the carbon tax, the Conservatives introduced a non-confidence motion in the Commons before the two-week Easter break. It was soundly defeated when Bloc Québécois and NDP MP rallied to support the Liberals.

Most premiers publicly opposed the latest carbon tax hike, saying that at a time of high inflation and cost of living concerns, making fossil fuels like oil, natural gas and propane more expensive is unfair to cash-strapped consumers.

After the tax increase, people can expect to pay about three cents more for a litre of gas than they did last month.

The government's Canada carbon rebate, meanwhile, is designed to wholly compensate most consumers for additional costs imposed by the carbon levy.

A number of premiers, including Ontario's Doug Ford and Nova Scotia's Tim Houston, have called for a first ministers' meeting to hash out a way forward with a tax caught in the political crosshairs.

"I've been in constant communication on a daily basis with a number of premiers. We aren't happy about it, to say the least," Ford told reporters on Friday. "He needs to sit down with us."

While the federal government agreed to lift the tax on home heating oil last year to help mostly rural consumers who rely on this fuel source, Trudeau and federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault have said repeatedly they will not entertain any other exemptions to tax, which is the centrepiece of the Liberal government's climate change policy.

WATCH: Energy minister says premiers should bring forward a 'realistic proposal' to replace carbon tax

Liberal MP Adam van Koeverden, the parliamentary secretary to Guilbeault, aggressively pushed back against Poilievre's motion Tuesday. He called the Conservative leader a climate-change denier who threatens the country's future.

He also called Poilievre "the petro-puppet from Carleton," a reference to his rural Ottawa riding.

"He's never earned an honest red cent in his life. The only job he's had is here in the House of Commons," van Koeverden said. He called Poilievre an MP with "no expertise" on climate issues and accused him of irresponsibly whipping up anxiety about a levy that will help Canada achieve its environmental targets, 

"I know they don't believe in climate change, but Canadians do," the Ontario MP said of Conservatives.

Van Koeverden pointed to last year's devastating wildfires — natural disasters that cost the country roughly $1.5 billion in economic losses — as justification for a tax that is designed to encourage Canadians to pick cleaner and greener fuel sources.

"Climate change is an existential threat to our economy and our livelihoods and Conservatives want to ignore it," van Koeverden said.

Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said Ottawa is prepared to meet with premiers on climate matters if they have "thoughts about a realistic proposal."

Right now, Wilkinson said, there's a lot of political posturing about the carbon tax, with few suggestions for an alternative arrangement that would meaningfully curb emissions.

"Having a conversation with a bunch of folks who actually have no climate plan and no plan to actually address the climate issue is pretty hard ..." he said.