The Supreme Court of Canada delivered a major victory for the federal government’s carbon tax program Thursday.
The court voted 6-3 that the Liberal government has a constitutional right to impose a minimum pricing standard on carbon for all provinces.
Saint John-Rothesay MP Wayne Long said the decision is a big win for Canada.
“It’s a win for us, it’s certainly a win for Canadians, and it’s a recognition that a reduction in carbon is in the national interest,” Long said.
The Liberal MP believes it’s critically important the Canadian government and their provincial counterparts continue to find ways to reduce their individual climate impact.
“Climate change is real, it poses the greatest threat on humanity certainly that we’ve ever faced,” Long said. “We need to act aggressively, our government has set out a target of net-zero carbon emission by 2050 and we aim to meet it.”
Conservative provincial governments in Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan led the charge against the federal carbon tax.
Premier Blaine Higgs, whose Progressive Conservative party earned a majority in last fall’s election, was not part of the push against the federal Liberal’s carbon pricing structure, after the province announced it would determine its own carbon pricing.
Long says the PCs are working with the federal government to find ‘made in New Brunswick solutions’ to climate change concerns.
“I think they’re working with us hand-in-hand to make sure we come up with the proper pricing in New Brunswick… that puts a price on pollution but also obviously fits what’s needed in New Brunswick,” he said.
