New Brunswick defends climate change plan while McKenna raises concerns
FREDERICTON — Federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna is suggesting New Brunswick’s approach to carbon pricing won’t meet Ottawa’s requirements, but Premier Brian Gallant is defending his plan.
The province released a plan this week that will see existing gasoline and diesel taxes repurposed for a climate-change fund, rather than adding a new carbon tax.
But in a post on her Facebook page, McKenna says without adding a new tax, New Brunswick’s plan “does not create a new incentive to cut carbon pollution.”
“Investing in climate action is great – but a carbon price does more than that. It also changes economic decisions by sending a price signal that wasn’t there before. That price signal makes pollution more expensive and rewards clean innovation,” McKenna wrote.