Greens unfazed by NDP incursion into their traditional turf

New Brunswick residents who vote with climate change in mind may have more than one party to consider as the NDP broadens its priorities to include the environment.

While the Green Party has always been viewed as the environmentally focused group, New Democratic Party Leader Jennifer McKenzie said she's an environmentalist, and her party is the only one with a concrete plan to fight climate change.

"I think that if people take the time to look at and compare they will see that our plan is the one that will make a difference," she said.

The NDP'splan was inspired by lack of action by Liberals and Progressive Conservatives, she said.

"Our [plan] is real, theirs is not," she said as she compared the NDPto Liberals and Conservatives. "Ours is funded, theirs is not. Ours has a clear plan on how we would create the funds and how we would spend it."

The NDP plan would rely on a $30-a-tonne tax on gas and electricity that would rise to $50 a tonne by the fourth year.

The tax would include carbon emitted by companies as well as individuals, so New Brunswick residents and visitors would see increases at the gas pumps and on their power bills.

McKenzie said a third of the money made, what she expects to total $400 million, would be returned to low- and middle-income residents in the form of an HST-like rebate. It wouldn't be based on how much gas they buy but on family size and income, she said.

A third of the revenues would be invested in renewable energy sources such as solar, tidal and wind energy, McKenzie said. The last third would be used for a more environmentally friendly public transit.

'We are the green party'

Green Party Leader David Coon said he's not concerned about the NDP possibly winning over the environmental vote.

"We arethe green party," he said. "We're the only party that has taken the environmental crisis seriously, consistently, and have had good comprehensive solutions to the full gamut of challenges we face with respect to the air water and land of our province."

Coon rolled out his climate change plan Monday morning. He said he plans to amend the Clean Air Act to include carbon dioxide emissions in order to regulate carbon-producing industries such as oil refineries.

If elected, a Green Party government would also require NB Power to use renewable energy to provide 50 per cent of the province's electricity by 2025, and increase that to 100 per cent by 2050.

Coon said he will also focus on overhauling the public transportation system to be more efficient and go farther.

"We would work with Maritime Bus to make sure that we get service around the province where we need it," he said. "So, for example, we have a bus from Fredericton to Miramichi."

The Clean Air Act aims to protect the quality of the air people breathe, and puts caps on emissions of gasses such as carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide.

Clean-air advocate Gordon Dalzell said he's been working to get carbon dioxide added to the list for the last four years. Every time, the response he gets from the government is that it's up to the federal governmentto amend the act, he said.

"I've always been told this is a federal responsibility, that was the party line," he said.

"If you really want to make a reduction, go after the big emitters I think emission caps are very effective. We all play a role, but I think industry plays a bigger role."

One issue party?

Jamie Gillies, communications and public policy professor, said the NDP has presented a more comprehensive environmental plan "perhaps to show they are serious about the issue."

"The Greens, on the other hand, have streamlined their environmental platform perhaps because they have evolved as a party, and have pivoted away from being a one-issue party," he said.

"They are now a serious contender for further seats and perhaps the balance of power in the legislature. So their entire platform is fairly comprehensive."

He said the NDP will likely not eat into Green Party support on environmental issues because "this is an issue area where David Coon is widely seen as a credible expert in the province."

But Gillies said the NDPis "certainly" making a play for voters who believe environmental issues are important.