Nova Scotia isn’t welcoming the prime minister’s sudden announcement that Ottawa will set and enforce, if necessary, a minimum price for carbon production.
Following a meeting of Canada’s environment ministers in Montreal on Monday, Nova Scotia’s Margaret Miller says her province feels let down and surprised.
READ MORE: Trudeau says Liberals willing to impose carbon price on provinces
Miller says the province is already on track to make deep emissions cuts and doesn’t understand Ottawa’s move.
In a statement, Miller says Nova Scotia has already met Canada’s target of a 30 per cent reduction in emissions from 2005 by 2030.
Miller says the province needs a solution that won’t “punish the pocketbooks of Nova Scotians,” who already pay among the highest energy rates in the country.
READ MORE: Nova Scotia wants recognition of its emissions reductions in carbon pricing plan
The federal plan, outlined by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, calls for a “floor price” of $10 a tonne in 2018 that increases to $50 a tonne by 2022 – measures that will be forced on the provinces if they don’t co-operate.