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After 12 hours of overnight votes, Filibuster 2.0 over carbon-tax costs ends without new price tag

Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna speaks during a news conference following meetings with provincial counterparts in Ottawa on Feb. 22.
Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna speaks during a news conference following meetings with provincial counterparts in Ottawa on Feb. 22. Adrian Wyld/CP

The marathon voting session sparked by Conservative demands for the government to release details on how much a carbon tax will cost Canadians has wrapped up after roughly 12 hours.

And so far, it seems the opposition has not gotten any new answers.

READ MORE: Conservatives set to force all-night voting over Liberal refusal to reveal carbon tax cost

On Thursday, MPs spent the day debating an Opposition motion from Conservative finance critic Pierre Poilievre, who announced during his opening speech on the motion that the party planned to force another filibuster.

At issue is the potential cost of the Liberal carbon tax plan on Canadians.

WATCH BELOW: Conservatives want to know if the prime minister will cancel the carbon tax

Click to play video: 'Conservatives want to know if the Prime Minister will cancel the carbon tax'
Conservatives want to know if the Prime Minister will cancel the carbon tax

The policy would set a price on carbon of $50 per ton in provinces that do not come up with their own plan to price pollution.

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Poilievre has for weeks called on the government to release an unredacted copy of an analysis the Conservatives obtained from the finance department under access-to-information laws.

READ MORE: What in the world is happening with the filibuster on Parliament Hill?

That analysis made reference to cost estimates done by the department on the impact of a carbon tax on Canadian families.

Some experts have warned a carbon tax would result in increases in costs of things like fuel and heating for Canadians as the cost to producers is spread throughout the economic chain.

But Environment Minister Catherine McKenna has refused demands to share the details of cost analyses.

WATCH BELOW: Catherine McKenna rebuffs new Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe’s carbon-tax resistance

Click to play video: 'Catherine McKenna rebuffs new Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe’s carbon tax resistance'
Catherine McKenna rebuffs new Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe’s carbon tax resistance

She says the costs will not be known until the provinces decide whether to implement their own plans or adopt the federal price.

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“Eighty per cent of Canadians live in a province where there is a price on pollution,” she said in a scrum with reporters on Thursday.

“It is up to provinces to determine what to do with the revenues and whether they give them back in tax cuts or in rebates or invest in clean energy. We think that that is the right approach. We’ve said all the revenues will go back into the province.”

WATCH BELOW: Pierre Poilievre calls carbon tax a ‘tax grab’ in question period

Click to play video: 'Pierre Poilievre calls carbon tax a ‘tax grab’ in Question Period'
Pierre Poilievre calls carbon tax a ‘tax grab’ in Question Period

The Conservatives say that’s not good enough.

“We have put forward over 200 motions to object to the spending bill the government has just tabled before the House and we will keep the government here voting for up to 30 hours,” said Poilievre.

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“We want every single document produced by every single department which calculates the cost of the carbon tax to every single Canadian that has been produced since the last election.”

The voting wrapped up after roughly 12 hours.

Members of Parliament voted to adjourn until 11 a.m. on Monday and so there will be no question period or other House proceedings on Friday.

There was no apparent agreement to release an unredacted version of the analysis obtained by the Conservatives but the plan to implement the carbon tax is set to go ahead.

C-74, the legislation containing the plan, passed Third Reading in the Senate on Thursday.

It will now go on to receive royal assent, which is the final step before it becomes law.

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