New Brunswick launching own carbon tax challenge, making new emissions plan

December 5, 2018 by Emily Jackson

(Source: CTV News)New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs says he’s committed to meeting and exceeding Ottawa’s emission targets, but is expanding his province’s fight against the federal carbon tax. Last week, the new Tory government announced it will intervene in legal challenges launched by Saskatchewan and Ontario, but now Higgs says New Brunswick will also launch its own legal challenge of the carbon tax. He said the proposed federal backstop puts New Brunswick at a disadvantage, and if it remains in place, New Brunswickers will be paying the country’s highest tax on gasoline by 2022. “Unless you’re putting a price on carbon and changing behaviour, and holding those who emit the most more responsible, then there is just no way to fund initiatives,” said Cathy Rogers, the Liberal environment critic. “We believe the federal government’s carbon tax unfairly targets New Brunswick businesses and is too heavy a financial burden for ordinary residents who need to heat their homes in the winter and drive their cars to where they need to go,” he said Wednesday. Read full article