Our Executive Director Lois Corbett says she’s keeping a close eye on the province’s proposed new carbon-pricing plan for large industrial polluters to ensure it doesn’t let the powerful industrial lobby in New Brunswick off the hook when it comes to meaningful action to reduce carbon pollution.
“We don’t need the huge industrial lobby in this province to prepare a secret, sweetheart deal that’s unfair to taxpayers, unfair to other competing industries and just doesn’t work to act on reducing carbon pollution,” Corbett told the CBC on Thursday, March 21.
The CBC reported on the provincial government’s new proposal of a “made-in-New-Brunswick” carbon pricing plan for large industrial polluters.
Reporter Jacques Poitras notes the plan is “strikingly similar” to the federally-imposed carbon backstop adopted by the previous Gallant government. He notes the key difference is a weaker standard for measuring carbon pollution.
Environment Minister Jeff Carr told reporters that his government’s plan “would lead to industry being on a fair playing field with our neighbours and exporters in other jurisdictions around.”
Carr said large emitters would still pay a small amount, but wouldn’t say how much.
Corbett said New Brunswickers need to be vigilant to ensure the deal doesn’t result in industry paying nothing while average New Brunswickers do their fair share under the federal carbon tax, which comes into effect April 1.
“Which regulation will be tougher for a pulp mill or an oil refinery is yet to be seen, because we’ve seen neither the national plan nor the provincial plan,” she said. “That’s what we all need to watch out for,” she said.