OTTAWA – Pierre Poilievre tried to bring down the government over a planned carbon tax increase. The Green Party of Canada believes this is a ploy to distract Canadians from his party's contradictions, and their lack of real solutions for the affordability crisis.
Fifteen years ago former Conservative minister John Baird said: "We've got to put a price on carbon." Unfortunately, today's Conservatives contradict their past positions. They delay urgent parliamentary business, including much-needed reforms like Pharmacare.
Stephen Harper's Conservatives supported establishing a price on carbon. "...our plan will effectively establish a price on carbon of $65 a tonne," he said in 2008. If Pierre Poilievre's former boss understood this, Greens find it hard to understand why his protégé doesn't.
"We are now faced with a Conservative party that claims to be the champion of 'common sense' but acts in Parliament as if they were a group of American frat boys on spring break in Montreal," said Jonathan Pedneault, Green Party deputy leader. "It’s like they're drunk on their own poll numbers. They’re using cheap tactics – throwing the climate, trans people, Quebecers, women, minorities, and national unity under the bus – and the only objective seems to be making noise and breaking things."
Green Party of Canada underscores the need to safeguard climate policies from bad faith attacks. These efforts to dismantle climate measures hinder progress. They also ignore real solutions for the affordability crisis. Opposition to carbon pricing and climate initiatives is part of a broader ideological effort. This effort aims to limit all forms of climate action. We must remain vigilant and proactive in countering these attacks. Canada's climate policies must reflect a commitment to long-term well-being and economic fairness.
"The cost of living is going up, and it’s hitting Canadians hard. Unfortunately, the carbon tax is being used by some as a scapegoat, as it is responsible for just 0.15 percentage points of inflationary increases," said Green MP Mike Morrice. "Greens will continue to advocate for real solutions to both the climate crisis and to making life more affordable for Canadians, including addressing excess profiteering that contributes to 47 cents of every dollar of inflation.”
The Greens have proposed bold measures to improve affordability. This includes a tax on excess oil and gas profits that could generate 4.2 billion dollars. The party also wants to see the new Canada Disability Benefit fully funded in the next federal budget. And they are urging the government to double federal social housing investments. These steps could reduce the economic burden on many Canadians. They would also make polluters pay their fair share.
"While Greens defend carbon pricing, we also recognize that pricing pollution is not sufficient to meet Paris Agreement goals," said Green Party leader Elizabeth May. "Wasting $35 billion on buying and then expanding a climate-killing pipeline is disastrous. We are the only party committed to stopping the Trans Mountain pipeline, to ending Canada’s dependence on fossil fuels and meeting the COP28 targets of tripling renewable energy and doubling energy efficiency by 2030."
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