Every year we see more and more natural disaster and other harsh consequences and global warming. The climate is changing and that sometimes involves major landscape changes like floods, landslide, territory washouts and other, as well as harmful effects on our health and the health of future generations. So the Canadian Federal government is working on a carbon tax to help deal with such consequences.
Environment Minister Catherine McKenna is defending the federal government's move to relax its proposed carbon tax limits on large emitters, giving industry more room before companies start paying. The government had initially proposed taxing companies for emissions over 70 percent of an industrial sector's average pollution intensity but is easing the proposed limit in most sectors to allow for emissions up to 80 percent of the industrial average. In "a small number of sectors," the limit will be even higher and allow emissions up to 90 percent of the industry average. Those going over the threshold will be taxed at $20 per tonne starting in 2019 and rising by $10 each year to $50 per tonne in 2022.
The Government will continue to engage provincial and territorial governments, Indigenous Peoples, industry, environmental groups, and other stakeholders on the design of the federal carbon pricing system during the winter and spring of 2018.
Last month thing took a turn when Prime minister Justin Trudeau had visited Manitoba, there Prime Minister stated publicly, he wished Pallister “would encourage some of the other conservative voices around the country to recognize that having a plan to fight climate change is something that all Canadians … have a right to expect.”
Last Wednesday, October 3rd Pallister suddenly announced that he left his plan for a carbon tax behind and also stated he didn’t appreciate Prime Minister`s comments on that matter. The situation has got out of hand and his own colleagues were surprised with such announcement. Clearly, there was no discussion beforehand on that matter, they were not aware of such statement was on agenda for the day. So what Pallister`s statement means for the companies that were on the list to be taxed with the new carbon tax? There is a big list of supporters of such tax as well as those who strongly disagree and publicly oppose the idea of an extra carbon tax.
Many companies that work in the area of mining and in other ways collecting minerals, coil, and other natural resources will be strongly pushing to oppose a new tax. On the other hand every year there are more and more companies appear on the national market that is working with renewable energy sources like wind and solar, among others, such companies are not just showing to be profitable, but also are saving the environment and help to fight the global warming threat.
In any case, such Pallister’s carbon tax decision catches caucus off guard and what will be the consequences and the aftermath of this. The idea of a carbon tax also includes the solution on how to balance the constantly growing energy prices for the population and redistribute additional funds to the environmental agencies, as well as help the country and its citizens to deal with the effects and consequences of major upcoming climate change.