Opposition leaders call on premier to submit a new provincial carbon tax plan to Ottawa

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has challenged premiers across the countrywho opposed the federal carbon tax to come up with a credible alternative, but it remains to be seen whetherNova Scotia Premier Tim Houston will take him up on the offer.

"We're considering doing that," Houston told reporters at Province House on Wednesday.

"We'll have those discussions, but, I mean, I don't know how genuine that offer is. But let's assume it is: those discussions will continue all the time. But I think the prime minister has been very clear, I think the Liberals in general have been very clear that they are absolutely focused and fixated on a carbon tax."

Ottawa imposed the carbon tax on Nova Scotia after the province refused to submit its ownplan for consumer carbon pricing. The province's submission for pricing greenhouse gas emissions for larger industrial emitters was approved by the federal government. Under the federal program, households receive quarterly payments from Ottawa intended to help offset the cost of the carbon tax.

By 2023,40 nationsaround the world hadintroduced a price on carbon in an attempt to reduce emissions from fossil fuels, according tothe UN secretariat on climate change.

With Canada's per-tonne price on carbon scheduled to increase from $65 to $80 on Monday, Trudeau issued the offer on Tuesday to Houston and six other premiers who oppose the carbon tax, to come up with their own approach to pricing carbon.

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Houston has been steadfast that the province does not need a consumer price on carbon because of a variety of measures Nova Scotia is taking to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions between now and 2030, including an expansion of green energy projects and efficiency programs for homeowners.

One of Houston's arguments against the consumer price on carbon has been what it does to the price of gasoline. Nova Scotia is a mostly rural province where people need a car to get around and cannot rely on public transportation, Houston has argued. He made that point again on Wednesday.

"You can make it as expensive as you want with as many taxes as you want, but we have to drive."

The price of a litre of gas in Nova Scotia this week ranges between $1.70 and $1.72, while the price of a litre of diesel is $1.90 and $1.92. The federal government announced last October that it would pause the carbon tax on the price of home heating fuelfor three years to give homeowners more time to transition to heat pumps or electricity to heat their homes.

'A significant political benefit'

Opposition leaders called on Houston to take the prime minister up on the offer to find an alternative consumer pricing plan for carbon that would have less of an impact on people thanthe federal carbon tax.

But Liberal Leader Zach Churchill speculated that Houston and his government will not act on the offer because they benefit from the tax in its current form both politically and financially. Houston routinely refers to the federal tax as a way to attack the provincial Liberals.

"It's been a significant political benefit to [the premier] and he's charging HST on top of the carbon tax and collecting $32 million a year off the carbon tax," Churchill told reporters.

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He said the premier knows people are frustrated about the carbon tax and that they blame the federal government for it.

"That's why he didn't negotiate a better deal when he had the chance two-and-a-half years ago and that's why I think he won't negotiate a better deal now, even though the prime minister is giving him an opportunity to do that."

'They didn't do their homework'

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it's clear that people are unhappy about what the carbon tax is doing to the price of gas, butshe said it's up to Houston and his government to fight for a better deal than the federal pricing plan.

"And so the question is, what is the other alternative?"

The province's previous proposal, which included no consumer price on carbon,"was embarrassing," said Chender.

"They didn't do their homework. They didn't do what was asked of them and we certainly hope that they will take the opportunity this time to actually do the work of governing."