Little political support for carbon tax in N.S.

HALIFAX – None of Nova Scotia’s three main political parties are advocating for a carbon tax.

While ministers from across Canada gather in Paris for the climate change talks, Nova Scotia is becoming a holdout in putting a price on carbon.

On Monday, Manitoba announced it would be the next Canadian province to join a cap-and-trade program with Ontario, Quebec and California.

Manitoba’s announcement makes it the fifth province to announce a carbon pricing program, and New Brunswick Premier Brian Gallant recently told reporters he’s considering introducing one in his province.

Nova Scotia, along with Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Saskatchewan are the remaining holdouts.

Nova Scotia Environment Minister Randy Delorey is in Paris, however the Liberal government has said numerous times, it’s not interested in a price on carbon.

“We are already on track to meet our (greenhouse gas) targets and the cost of electricity and gas in the province is among the highest in Canada,” Sarah Levy MacLeod, a spokesperson with the environment department, said in a statement.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We are already on track to meet our (greenhouse gas) targets and the cost of electricity and gas in the province is among the highest in Canada," Sarah Levy MacLeod, a spokesperson with the environment department, said in a statement.

The Nova Scotia Branch of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives called for a carbon tax in its 2016-17 alternative budget proposal. A government-funded tax review, authored by Laurel Broten, in 2014 also called for a carbon tax. Both reports recommend the government introduce a tax with the same price structure as in B.C. The tax would start at $10/tonne of carbon emissions and increase by $5 per year until it reached $30.

READ MORE: Nova Scotia should expand HST and introduce carbon tax: report

The official opposition Progressive Conservatives are also against a carbon tax. “A carbon tax would unfairly raise the cost of living on Nova Scotians rather than ensuring that big polluters pay,” Director of Communications Jennifer Edge, said in a statement.

The third-place NDP takes a softer stand on a carbon tax, calling it a “concept that warrants consideration and discussion,” according to Spokesperson Mark Laventure. However the party isn’t actively campaigning for a tax.